On Christmas Eve, Florida officers deliver packages stolen from front doors by thief
(Courtesy: Hollywood Police Department)
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Police officers in South Florida made Christmas Eve deliveries to the rightful owners of packages that had been stolen by a thief who was caught on a resident's Ring doorbell camera on Saturday, authorities said.
Police officers in Hollywood, Florida received a call about a man who was seen taking packages from people's front doors Saturday evening.
"A victim who called it in said, ‘Hey, there’s a guy going around stealing packages from me and my neighbors’ front yards. I have it on my Ring cam," Hollywood Police Officer Christian Lata told WSVN.
(Courtesy: Hollywood Police Department)
The resident provided investigators with video of the suspect stealing packages, and officers responded to an apartment complex to search.
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When officers arrived at the scene, they saw a man who matched a description and tried to make contact with him but he ran away, the Hollywood Police Department said in a news release.
The officers chased the man, later identified as 40-year-old Steven Watson, and were able to take him into custody. Upon searching Watson's vehicle, they found 39 stolen packages.
In Watson's arrest report, officers noted that they found packages throughout the car, "so much that it was covering the entire vehicle but the driver seat," they wrote.
Officers were able to identify who most of the packages belonged to and delivered them to their proper homes on Christmas Eve, the news release said.
"It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a police officer where he can actually catch these burglars and return the items to the victims," Lata said.
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Watson is facing criminal charges of burglary, grand theft and resisting arrest without violence. He is being held in the Broward County Jail on $8,500 bond.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.