Police Act as Santas in Germantown, Stolen Packages Delivered

GERMANTOWN, MD — Four teenagers from Germantown and Boyds have reportedly admitted to playing the Christmas Grinch in the Clarksburg and Germantown areas, say authorities, who located more than 40 stolen packages in two stolen Audis. Montgomery County Police officers recently delivered some of the stolen items to their owners.

Investigators have located about 42 stolen packages that were taken from doorsteps after they were delivered to residences in the Clarksburg and Germantown areas. During the holiday season, many people shop online and have the packages delivered to their home, which offers more opportunities for thieves to steal the deliveries.

An 18-year-old from Boyds, Marcell Bennett, is charged with theft, while three 17-year-olds face theft charges as juveniles. The thefts are linked to two separate cases, police say, that happened Dec. 13 and 20.

In the first case of porch piracy, a resident of Fair Garden Lane in Clarksburg called police about 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 to report that he had just seen two boys stealing packages from the front porches of houses on the street. The teens got in a silver Audi driven by a third suspect; police say the car was reported stolen from a Clarksburg residence three days earlier.

A few minutes later, the Clarksburg High School Resource Officer saw the stolen Audi drive through the school parking lot and drop off a student. Officers stopped the vehicle and arrested two 17-year-old suspects from Germantown; they were charged with felony auto theft and released to their parents. Officers found 12 packages in and around where the vehicle had stopped.

On Dec. 20, police were working in the Germantown area attempting to locate a silver Audi station wagon — not the same vehicle from the first incident — that was believed to be involved in package thefts in the area. Police had received multiple calls from residents the previous two days about a suspect following a delivery truck in the Audi station wagon and stealing packages from homes. Numerous residents had reported thefts of packages in the same area, including a delivery that contained five picture frames with a $100 bill in each frame.

Later that day, an officer saw the stolen Audi wagon in the Germantown area; it was driven to a dead-end street, where the driver threw several boxes into the woods, officials say. Once the driver, later identified as Bennett, made eye contact with the police officer, he sped away. Officers stopped the station wagon, and took Bennett and a female passenger, a 17-year-old from Boyds, into custody. A search of the Audi turned up about 30 packages, while five $100 bills were found inside the girl’s purse, possibly the same bills as those that had been sent in the stolen picture frame package.

Both Bennett and his passenger admitted to stealing packages, police say. Bennett was taken to the Central Processing Unit and charged with theft, while the girl was charged with theft and released to her parents.

Both suspects will face more theft charges once all victims are identified. Investigators also found return item receipts in the girl’s purse that indicate that the pair had been stealing packages and returning the stolen items to stores for money.

Police and security experts have shared some reminders on how to thwart "porch pirates" and ensure you receive your packages:

• If possible, have your package delivered to a location where it can be received by a trusted person.
• Request that the shipper holds the package at their facility for pickup.
• Track deliveries online and confirm delivery has occurred.
• Insure valuable items.
• Provide delivery instructions so packages are left out of sight from the street.
• Watch out for vehicles following delivery vans through neighborhoods. Some thieves will simply shadow deliver drivers and go from house to house stealing newly delivered packages.
• When sending packages, take them to a post office or other shipping facility rather than leaving them outside your home for pickup. Let the person you are sending the package to know to expect the package.
• Show off your home security system; make sure you have a sign in the front yard. If you have security cameras, make sure potential thieves know they're there, and if you have a doorbell camera, use it.
• Sign up for email notifications from FedEx, UPS and businesses like Amazon and Urban Outfitters to track your package from initial shipment to its arrival at your home or the recipient's address if you have the gift delivered directly.

»Photos: Top photo: Detective Dickensheets returning a stolen package to its owner; next photo, Detective Dickensheets (left) and Officer Grzybowski returning a stolen package to its owner; suspect Marcell Bennett; stolen packages found during the investigation, and stolen packages located in a stolen Audi on Dec. 13, all courtesy of Montgomery County Police