INDIANAPOLIS — A man was caught on an east side family's home security cameras taking every piece of their patio furniture.
Andrew Hopkins, the victim of the porch theft, was asleep inside his home on Drexel Avenue when his doorbell camera captured a man walk onto his porch. The man then began to steal Hopkins patio furniture.
Hopkins described the incident. "He unloaded piece by piece, took it off our porch and went across the street. A car swang by about 4:15 and pick them all up," he said. "We just watched it all happen the next morning, of course."
It happened in the middle of the night, around 3:45 a.m. Sunday. Hopkins says he's lived in the area for several years and hasn't been the target of any crime in the past. Hopkins is not sure why the thief chose his house.
"It's weird because you can't really see it from outside, other people have furniture," Hopkins said. "It seems like he just came on the sidewalk and stopped in front of our home, and just went up the steps and did it."
In order to avoid being a target of crime, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department advises the following procedure:
- Leave lights on outside the house in the evening; this will help deter criminal activity.
- Bring patio furniture in overnight or place in a locked garage.
- Build relationships with the neighbors on your block. The more folks you know, the more eyes you have in the neighborhood looking out for one another and suspicious activity.
- Report suspicious activity. We are here to serve you and want you to call in suspicious activity (317-327-3811).
- If you don’t want to bring patio furniture in, you can also tie it down with cable, or attach the pieces together by cable.
- Put a sign up in your yard or on your porch which states you have surveillance cameras.
- Get a security system/Surveillance.
- Document the items you have, via pictures, serial numbers, and owner applied numbers in the event it is stolen.
If you recognize the man in the video, contact CrimeStoppers at 317-262-TIPS.
