Accused Package Thief Arrested In San Leandro

SAN LEANDRO, CA — San Leandro police say the arrest of a package theft suspect on Tuesday is a reminder to the community that thieves often steal packages off people's front porches, especially during the holiday season.

Two homes in the 900 block of Evergreen Avenue were victimized on Tuesday, according to police.
At about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday the residents at the two homes received packages that were delivered to their doorsteps by a driver in a white parcel van, police said.

A video surveillance camera at one of the homes shows the driver placing packages on the home's front porch, according to police. A few moments later, a silver BMW sedan pulled up to the house and a male suspect got out of its passenger door, ran to the front porch and stole the packages that had just been delivered, police said.

That home's video surveillance camera also captured footage of the same suspect taking a package from the porch of his neighbor's home across the street, according to police. The suspect then returned to the BMW sedan, which left the area.

San Leandro police officers who responded to the thefts got a description of the suspect who was wearing distinctive pajama pants, a black hooded sweatshirt and sneakers and that description was broadcast to officers around the city, police said. A few hours later, an officer on patrol in the south end of town saw the suspect walking on Hesperian Boulevard and stopped the man, who was
later identified as 20-year-old Deandre Jamal Malik Smith of Oakland, according to police.

Smith confessed to the theft and was arrested, police said.

"Once again the use of video surveillance helped our officers in locating the suspect," San Leandro police Lt. Isaac Benabou said in a statement.

Benabou said, "The distinctive clothing the suspect wore caught the attention of our officer. Without the video, we would not know who to look for."

Smith was taken to San Leandro city jail, where he was cited and released with a misdemeanor citation for mail theft, police said. He's scheduled to appear in court in January.

Police said the stolen items and the vehicle Smith was riding in haven't yet been located.

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— Bay City News; Image by Renee Schiavone, Patch