Cops: Package Stealing 'Grinch' Nabbed After Wrong-Way Chase

YONKERS, NY — Two men accused of stealing packages from doorsteps in Westchester County are under arrest after a wrong-way chase Wednesday that left three police officers injured and six cars damaged, police said.

The porch-pirate chase started Wednesday afternoon when Yonkers police attempted to stop two people in a car who were suspected of stealing packages delivered to residents' homes, police Detective Sgt. Dean Politopoulos said. The car sped off north on Central Park Avenue but in the southbound lanes, striking parked cars before eventually crashing. Then the two men got out and ran before finally being caught by police, Politopoulos said.

The officers who were injured were involved in a separate crash while chasing the suspects. They received injuries that were not deemed to be life-threatening, Politopoulos told Patch.

The police department's statement on the incident was seasonally themed:

22-year-old Claude Burnett of the Bronx and his 17-year-old accomplice literally stole the Christmas spirit from a couple of our residents in Yonkers last month (and allegedly other incidents in surrounding areas) before being apprehended on Central Park Avenue yesterday; unfortunately, during their attempts to get away, they drove the wrong-way on Central Park Avenue and crashed into half-a-dozen parked cars - now they face even more serious charges! Great job by our #YonkersPD cops and our Westchester County Police Department partners in identifying and apprehending these two suspects - it doesn't pay to be a Grinch!!