Man catches package thief on Ring camera, police later make arrest

    OAK FOREST, Illinois (WBBM) -- With the holidays upon us, it is also prime season for porch pirates.

In one case in south suburban Oak Forest, a man took matters into his own hands—helping police catch a thief in less than 24 hours.

"You know, it's a tale as old as time," said Don Archer. "You just never think it's going to happen to you."

Indeed, Archer never expected to go to his Ring camera and see an unidentified man swiping a package right off his porch. But that was exactly what happened on Wednesday.

That package was a Christmas gift for Archer's fiancée.

"He made the blatant mistake of actually looking towards my camera when he was taking the package," Archer said.

This move left the thief's face clear to identify. Archer said police later told him the man had struck other homes on the block earlier in the day.

In most cases when porch pirates attack, victims typically don't make the time to file a police report. In Archer's case, he not only filed a report, but handed over the video to police.

"Apparently, my camera was the only camera that caught him actually physically taking a package," said Archer.

Other surveillance cameras in the neighborhood captured the man's license plate.

It all came to a head Thursday morning, when the suspect returned to the neighborhood to continue his package swiping spree.

"The license plate cameras caught his car. They pulled him over and arrested him," Archer said. "I don't think he thought he was going to get caught in less 24 hours."

In this instance, detectives said Archer did everything right by not dismissing the theft.

The fact is that most people are not immune to porch pirate thefts. But there are things people can do—which include requiring a signature for deliveries, or using a credit card that offers a refund or replacement if a package is swiped.

"Go ahead and check with your credit card issuer and see, 'Do I have purchase protection? What are the limitations in case something like this does happen?'" said CNET money editor Dashia Milton.

This is something Archer said he will be looking into.

Meanwhile, the suspect arrested in this case remained in custody late Thursday with charges pending.