DITMARS — A thief was caught on video snatching packages off the steps of an Astoria home last week.
A surveillance video planted by a resident captured the thief, who appears to be talking on a cellphone at the time, walking through the front gate and up the steps of the 24th Street home off Ditmars Boulevard at roughly 4 p.m. Friday. He then opens a storm door, grabs the packages and puts them in a plastic bag before walking away, the video shows.
The resident — who asked that her name not be published for safety reasons — said one package contained a book she ordered and the other a bathing suit. One of her neighbors found the book and one of the envelopes in a trash can afterwards, but the bathing suit was missing, she said.
"He apparently was going down the block collecting packages, and then he would inspect what was in the package and keep it or throw it out," the resident said.
She called the 114th Precinct to report the theft and was told to call 911, she said. But after officials took her information and assured her that an officer would come by to take a report, the woman has yet to be contacted, she said.
Detectives from the 114th Precinct are investigating the incident, according to the NYPD.
"I want people to know if they see somebody doing that, going house to house with a bag, there's a problem," the woman said.
