Trying to steal away with a package, but the cameras are on

Packages delivered to your front porch -- they’re a holiday temptation some thieves can’t resist.

A 27-year-old woman was in custody Monday in Stockton after home security cameras seemed to show her pilfering a package. The footage depicts a woman hopping from a truck, walking up, removing the box and running most of the way back to her ride.

Stockton police posted the video on social media and Sunday night got a tip.

Kimberly Bird, a transient, was found at a residence in north Stockton and arrested on outstanding warrants, Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva said -- a misdemeanor warrant for commercial burglary and petty theft and a felony warrant for possession of narcotics, burglary and forgery. She was booked Sunday, he said, and remained in custody.

Police said the Dec. 11 theft was among a spate of package thefts in the Brookside West neighborhood. In this instance, the suspects drove by the U.S. mail carrier as she stopped in front of the victim’s house, took out a box and placed it on the porch. Six minutes later, the suspects stopped in front of the house, grabbed the package and ran, police say.

“Social media is a great investigative tool for law enforcement,” Silva said. “You’d be amazed the type of response we get from some of our tipsters when we release a video.”

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