HoCo 'Porch Pirates' Busted with 77 Packages: Police

COLUMBIA, MD — Police officers will be playing Santa in Columbia Thursday night, attempting to deliver some of the 77 boxes that they recovered after an observant resident called authorities and led them to a pair of alleged porch pirates.

At 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday, a resident in the area of Greystone Lane alerted 911 that a suspicious box truck was going around the neighborhood and picking up boxes from people's homes, police said.

In less than a minute, a community resource officer was at the scene, and two others arrived soon after. Police said they located and stopped the truck, which had 77 packages inside.

Two Baltimore men — Amjad Jaouni, 28, of the 1600 block of West Lombard Street, and Ernest Ohanyan, 25, of the 2900 block of Marnat Road — were arrested and charged with theft scheme under $10,000; theft from $1,000 to $10,000; and theft less than $1,000, court records show.

Ohanyan was released on $5,000 bond, and Jaouni was being held at the Howard County Detention Center on $5,000 bond, police said Thursday afternoon.

Packages that were recovered came from addresses on these Columbia streets, police said:

• Tamar Drive
• Black Star Circle
• Dark Hawk Circle
• Dawn Whistle Lane
• Dry Barley Lane
• Dry Stone Gate
• Fire Cloud Court
• Four Foot Trail
• Oak BushTerrace
• Roan Stallion Lane
• Saddle Drive
• Sanctuary Court
• Sea Light Lane
• Silver Trumpet Drive
• Summer Cloud Way

Police officers will try Thursday night to deliver the packages personally to those who were victims.

If residents are not home, their packages will be available for pickup from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday at the Northern District Station, 3410 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City. Residents will need photo ID and/or proof of address. Contact the Howard County Police Department at 410-313-3200 with any questions.

For the holiday season, officers have been ramping up their presence in all sorts of ways, aside from returning packages to Columbia neighborhoods. Police said there are more patrols at shopping centers, on roads and in neighborhoods; and officers are on foot, in cars, on bikes, in uniform and in plain clothes.

Package Protection

Residents can take steps to protect their packages from so-called package pirates. Here are some tips from the Howard County Police Department:

• Track shipments. Try to be home when packages are scheduled to arrive or have them delivered to work.
• Ask a neighbor to pick up your package until you arrive home.
• Report suspicious behavior, persons and vehicles immediately to 911. If a vehicle is involved, try to note the make, model, tag number and direction of travel.

Photo of recovered packages courtesy of the Howard County Police Department.