FedEx driver wins tug of war with would-be thief over package on porch in south suburbs

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (WLS) -- There are tens of millions of valuable packages delivered each day.

Homewood police are investigating what recently happened in front of a resident's home when a porch pirate at work was recorded by a doorbell camera.

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The would-be thief tried to escape with a package that he fought over with the FedEx driver who had just dropped it on the doorstep. The driver secured the box, and the attacker ran off.

The suburban case is among a growing number of porch pirate attacks coast-to-coast.

At 5:26 p.m. Thursday, a Homewood resident opened her door for a package and got an eyeful. The FedEx driver was blindsided by a hooded bandit who grabbed the package.

The delivery person quickly responded by tugging and retrieving the package from the would-be thief, who ran off and jumped into a getaway car.

The delivery man and the resident both were shaken but unhurt. The package, which contained four new iPhones and an Android, was saved.

This type of crime is happening elsewhere.

Just last month in Florida, a Fed Ex worker was approached by a stranger during a delivery. He refused to hand over the delivery unless the man could unlock the front door. The man instead chose to run.

SEE ALSO | Video shows woman confronting porch pirate in the act

Last year in Virginia, security footage showed a man swiping a package right out of a delivery person's hands.

A New Yorker last spring said he was fed up by porch pirates and put out a fake package to catch the neighborhood thief. The vigilante held that suspect with a baseball bat until police arrived and made the arrest.

Back in the Chicago suburb of Homewood, police said they are trying to trace the license plate on the getaway car in Thursday's brazen attempt by a porch pirate.

The resident told the ABC7 I-Team that she had ordered five cell phones from a door-to-door salesperson, who promised delivery Thursday.

"We've seen people just trying to take random things and see if they can get it by luck of the draw to get something good. And then we've also seen ones that have been planned out where they are told by somebody down that pipeline that there's going to be something on a porch that they try to go and grab," Homewood Deputy Police Chief Thomas Johnson said. "My tip to anybody is if a would-be thief is on your front porch, he's trying to take your package. Just let it go. It's a piece of property. No need for you to get hurt while trying to protect that package."

SEE ALSO | Porch pirate disguised as trash bag steals package from home doorstep: VIDEO

As for the delivery driver's hand-to-hand struggle with that would-be thief, a FedEx official told the I-Team:

"The security of our customers' shipments is our top priority, and we appreciate our team member's quick actions to make sure the shipment was delivered to its intended recipient. We encourage any customer who believes a shipment has been stolen to immediately contact local law enforcement. Additionally, FedEx offers customers innovative visibility technologies to give our customers added peace of mind when it comes to the reliable delivery of their packages. Tools such as Picture Proof of Delivery, FedEx Delivery Manager, and the FedEx mobile app offer customers more control over the timing and location of their deliveries."