A thief caught on surveillance video snatched a clothing delivery right off a front porch in the 400 block of 15th Avenue in Newark, then took off running westbound down the street. Police have released a description of the suspect but say they still don't know who did it, and they're now asking the public for help cracking the case.
What the Video Shows
According to Newport Dispatch, the theft happened at approximately 10:54 a.m. on Wednesday in the 400 block of 15th Avenue, with the account attributing the timeline to Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr. Shore News Network reported a separate incident: a rug stolen from the 600 block of South 17th Street on Saturday, January 31, 2026.
The two reports describe separate incidents, not competing accounts of one theft. In the 15th Avenue case, surveillance video captured the suspect taking a package containing clothing from a resident's porch after it had been delivered, and the person fled westbound on 15th Avenue immediately afterward, per the reporting.
Suspect Description and the Search for Answers
In the separate South 17th Street rug theft, police described that suspect as wearing a gray peacoat, a light gray hooded sweatshirt and black-and-white Vans. Investigators have not publicly identified the suspect or announced an arrest in that case.
Miranda is urging anyone with information about the suspect's identity to call the Newark Police Division's 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477). Tipsters can remain anonymous, and the line operates around the clock for residents who may recognize the clothing, the gait, or anything else from the footage.
A Recurring Problem on Newark Porches
This isn't the first time Newark police have put out a public plea over a stolen delivery. In July, a package was taken from a residence in the 80 block of Isabella Avenue at around 1 a.m., according to a separate Newport Dispatch report. Another case involved a delivered rug valued at more than $150 taken from a South 17th Street residence on a Saturday afternoon, as reported by Shore News Network. And in a case detailed by RLS Media, a suspect was caught on camera taking a package from a building in the 50 block of Orchard Street at around 12:56 p.m. on November 25.
The pattern tracks with what researchers and lawmakers have been saying about package theft statewide. More than 190,000 New Jersey residents had a package stolen during a three-month stretch, according to a figure cited by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer and reported by nj.com. Nationally, an estimated 104 million packages were stolen in the past year, or roughly 250,000 a day, per figures from SafeWise cited in that same nj.com report.
Much of it likely goes unnoticed in official statistics. Researcher Ben Stickle estimates that only 7% to 10% of package thefts are ever reported to police, largely because retailers often refund customers without much hassle, nj.com reported. A separate 2022 study from Stickle found that only about 10% of thieves even bothered trying to hide their faces from cameras.
What the Law Says About Porch Piracy
New Jersey has toughened penalties for this exact kind of crime. Under the state's Defense Against Porch Pirates Act, stealing a delivered package containing items of undetermined value or worth less than $75,000 is a third-degree crime, according to nj.com's coverage of the 2022 law. A conviction can carry three to five years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. Assembly sponsors of that legislation pointed to a Finder survey finding that roughly 14% of Americans say they've had a package stolen, underscoring how common the problem has become even before cases like this one in Newark.
