‘You just don’t expect that’: Armed and masked man steals package from Midlothian home

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Chesterfield County Police are investigating after a man with a gun stole a package from a porch in the county’s Midlothian area, with the whole ordeal caught on camera.

The theft happened on Brightstone Terrace. And since then, homeowner Alan Delano says he has increased the security surrounding his home with more cameras. He hopes he won’t have to review shocking footage like what he saw on Thursday ever again.

“It was definitely unique,” Delano said. “Definitely took it to a different level and for it to be done, you know, in the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight with people actually on the property when that happened to it was just you don’t expect that.”

The Delano family have been living in the area for 5 years and say this was something they never thought would happen to them. Delano says that it was less than thirty minutes between when the package was delivered and when it was stolen.

Chesterfield Police say the Oct. 3 incident isn’t the first time they have seen this happen in the area. Captain Randy Horowitz says this same incident happened in Henrico County in September, even though it’s unclear right now if it’s the same suspect.

“But the general description of the suspect is similar,” Horowitz said. “It’s very concerning that somebody will be running around waving a gun in Chesterfield County.”

Horowitz said that the department will do everything they can to keep incidents like this from happening in the future, but it’s an uphill battle.

“I mean, we can’t increase our patrols in any particular place because, you know, FedEx delivers everywhere. It’s not like there’s one neighborhood that’s getting hit. it’s strained throughout the whole region,” Horowitz said.

Delano said the porch pirate stole a brand-new iPhone and that even though he will have to pay to replace it, he considers himself lucky that this situation didn’t end differently.

“You know, at material things, they can easily be replaced, but just kind of that sense of security that you have is definitely affected when someone just so casually brings a weapon onto your porch,” Delano said.

Horowitz says that police are still investigating this incident and there are things that residents can do to protect themselves. He urges people to remember not to have packages delivered if they don’t think they will be home, or to utilize offsite mailboxes if possible.

Police ask anyone who may recognize the person in the video to call the department immediately at 804-748-0660.

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