Man gets even with porch pirates

PITTSBURGH — Fed up with getting one package after the next stolen right off of his front steps, an Uptown man plotted revenge on the “porch pirates.”

The man, who did not want to be identified, talked to Channel 11 about taking matters into his own hands after he says two packages were taken from his Uptown home since the start of the new year.

He shared his surveillance video only with Channel 11, showing the moment he says he finally got even.

“The stuff doesn’t belong to you,” he said. “So leave it on the porch. Don’t touch it and kinda move on with your life.

“It’s just a big nightmare over a couple light fixtures and toothpaste; people wanna steal off my doorstep.”

So here’s what he did:

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“Had an empty Amazon envelope, so I emptied the litter box, the cat pee, the cat poop and stuffed it in the envelope and I just decided to set it on the step,” he said.

He set the envelope outside and within an hour, this group of people strolled past. Ignoring the 24-hour surveillance sign outside of his home, they pounced.

And they got a surprise he says they certainly weren’t hoping for.

"They ripped open the package and they got cat poop, cat pee all over their fingers," he said. "Immediately ripped it and took off. Surprise! Absolutely."

He says he notified police about that theft and no one has been arrested.

He says his neighbors have also had packages stolen, and he’s hopeful the porch pirates learn a lesson.

“It’s an inconvenience. It’s a hassle. They’re stealing things that don’t belong to them.”

Cox Media Group