Kingston Police arrest porch pirate thanks to ‘diligent officer’

Thanks to the diligence of a Kingston Police officer, an individual is now awaiting a future court date after stealing a package from a porch on Hillendale Avenue yesterday.

At approximately 9:05 a.m. on Tuesday, Jun. 21, 2022, the owner of the residence, who was not at home at the time of the theft, received an alert and watched the video surveillance showing the accused stealing a delivered package off of the porch of the Hillendale Avenue residence, according to a media release from Kingston Police.

According to the release, the resident immediately contacted Kingston Police and provided them with an image of the accused, which provided clear physical and clothing descriptors.

Kingston Police said that an officer on general patrol, realizing that this was an opportune time for further thefts to be perpetrated while homeowners were at work, “tenaciously scoured the area searching for the accused.”

“This diligent officer, after searching the area extensively, located the accused, who matched the exact description and image provided by the complainant, standing outside of a plaza on Aberfoyle Road,” Kingston Police said. “The accused was subsequently arrested at approximately 10:20 a.m. and a search incident to arrest revealed that they were in possession of the parcel in question, which was located in their backpack. Locating the accused in such a timely manner undoubtedly thwarted numerous other thefts from occurring in the area on this date.”

The accused was transported to police headquarters where they were held to be released on conditions with a future court date.

An 18-year-old local individual was charged with theft under $5,000.