Three porch thieves arrested in Lynnwood; packages and mail returned

Lynnwood police arrested two women and one man Thursday morning after responding to a report of a package theft in the 4800 block of 182nd Street Southwest. According to the police report, the reporting party told the dispatcher that a package had been stolen from his porch minutes earlier and he provided surveillance video of the incident.

Lynnwood Officer Jerome Riener arrived near the reporting party’s neighborhood within four minutes after the call. According to the police report, Riener saw the three suspects walking southbound on 48th Avenue West, approaching 188th Street Southwest. He stopped them for questioning as another officer and Sgt. Jason Valentine arrived.

The male suspect was found to have outstanding warrants from the Mill Creek Police Department and was in possession of stolen mail and a gaming card box linked to the theft. One of the female suspects matched the video footage showing a woman taking a package from the victim’s porch. The second female suspect was found carrying two boxes of gaming cards consistent with the stolen property, along with a package concealed in her clothing.

Police also found on the male suspect a butterfly knife and another blade of more than 3.5 inches, both of which are illegal to carry in Washington state.

The recovered mail and packages were traced to multiple nearby addresses. Officers were able to return some items to confirmed owners.

The reporting party and his partner showed Officer Riener the videos of the package theft. One video showed a woman with her hair in a bun and dressed in a sweatshirt over her face, exposing her shoulders down to a tank top. The description matched one of the female suspects.

The male suspect was booked into Snohomish County Jail while one of the female suspects was taken into custody to be searched by a female police officer. Riener reported that Valentine “could feel more mail down the pants” of the female suspect during the search.

The other female suspect was cited and released at the scene because Riener did not find any warrants.

“Our community health and safety can likely help you, but some common-sense tips are to always remove your mail from your mailbox as quickly as possible and using secured mailboxes,” Riener told Lynnwood Today. “As far as people stealing from your porch, you have to get packages off your porch quickly.”