Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Property Crimes Detective Jose Fabian arrested 50-year-old Robert Franklin Seymour Jr. for three counts of Burglary, three counts of felony Petit Theft, and one count of Grand Theft.
On September 19, October 21, and October 28, a man was caught on camera stealing packages from three different homes, putting them into a red Grubhub bag, and leaving in a small Nissan SUV. During the investigations, MCSO deputies and detectives were able to identify the SUV as Seymour’s wife’s vehicle, and they were able to identify Seymour as the porch pirate in the videos. On November 2, 2022, Detective Fabian located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. Seymour was taken into custody, and the red Grubhub bag was inside the vehicle. Seymour was transported to the Gold Star Hotel, where he is being held on a $59,000 bond.
Citizens, we do more and more shopping online for the convenience of having our items delivered to us. Here are some tips that can help deter porch pirates from committing the crime or, like in this case, help us identify them and get them off the streets.
First, track your deliveries and make sure someone is there to receive them when they arrive. Consider requiring a signature for your delivery. You can even have parcels delivered to your place of employment. Second, consider installing a camera system. There are systems available that replace your doorbell, record any activity on your porch, and send that video directly to your smartphone. Finally, report any suspicious vehicles or activity to law enforcement immediately, and be sure to include as much information as you can. Do not try to stop these pirates yourself. Let us do that.
