San Jose Police Open Case On Red-Handed Porch Thieves
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- Police in San Jose are now investigating a porch theft in which the resident caught the thieves in the act, a day after a KPIX 5 report which showed surveillance footage of the crime.
Wednesday, Heidi Burrows rolled up to her home on Tulip Road in west San Jose to find a woman taking a package from her porch and about to get away in an SUV driven by a man.
Burrows honked and zoomed up to the car, blocking their path.
Her security camera recorded the confrontation, with the couple tossing out the package from their SUV window before driving off.
Burrows contacted San Jose Police right away, but was told there would be no investigation because the package was not stolen - even though Burrows was able to get a picture of the thieves and their license plate.
"It's a little frustrating because basically, I put the puzzle together and all they have to do is go over there and write them a citation," said Burrows.
But after her story aired on KPIX 5, Burrows received a phone call from a police officer.
"He bluntly stated that the reason they decided to open a case and make it official is because they didn't realize there was so much information available," Burrows said. "So they kind of blamed it on miscommunication at the department. People didn't realize I had photos and videos."
The post office, which delivered the package containing nothing but tape and tissue paper, said the attempted robbery is a felony and a federal offense.
A San Jose police spokesman said investigators will try and track down the couple and look into potential tie-ins to other cases.
"It just takes time. So we just ask people please be patient," said San Jose Police spokesman Albert Morales. "Any information that we get could tie these two people into other cases that are still unsolved, where we might have a car, but not a license plate."
Police said there have been nearly 11,000 cases involving property crimes in the San Jose so far in 2017, many which have surveillance camera evidence.
