Packages Delivered to Doorsteps Reported Stolen in West Des Moines

A West Des Moines man learned recently about what can happen when no one is at home to accept a package delivery.

In a Jan. 14 report to the West Des Moines Police Department, the man, who lives in the 100 block of Fourth Street, said he ordered a laptop computer from the Home Shopping Network in November.

On Dec. 9, he still hadn’t received it, so he contacted the seller and learned it had been shipped through UPS on Nov. 30. The victim said neither he nor anyone in his family received the package, which was left on the front porch. The porch is not enclosed so anyone could have picked it up, according to the report.

The victim provided Officer Nicole Stevens with the information for the UPS case investigator, but was unable to provide a serial number. The computer was worth $550, and the Home Shopping Network has refunded the victim’s $145 deposit, according to the report.

In another case, a West Des Moines man reported on Jan. 8 that he had ordered two men’s sweaters from LL Bean and they were delivered on Dec. 13 by UPS and left outside his door.  The package was not there when he returned home that afternoon, so he reported it stolen with UPS, where officials told him to file a police report.