CAUGHT ON VIDEO: East Bay homeowner surprises alleged package thieves with feces as decoy
"You can see them opening up the bag, dumping it to their hand and kind of wondering what they thought was in the bag didn't quite smell right."
ALAMO, Calif. (KGO) -- An Alamo man was so fed up with porch pirates, stealing packages and Christmas gifts, he decided to take matters into his own hands and devised the ultimate payback which was caught on camera.
"It was wonderful. That probably bought me the most Christmas cheer I've had in weeks," says the man who does not want to be identified. He requested we refer to him as "Buddy."
For three weeks, "Buddy" says he and his neighbors were targeted by package thieves. So, he hatched a devious plan and made this decoy package. All with the help of his late 95-pound Doberman, Diesel.
"Try to think of the worst thing you could open up; came up with dog poop!" Buddy laughs.
RELATED: Milpitas Police Department catches alleged porch pirate during 'bait box' operation
Every night for two weeks, Buddy put the decoy in his mailbox, complete with fake label reading "cannabis extract" and fake mailing address. And one week before Christmas Day?
Buddy describes what happened.
"You can see them opening up the bag, dumping it to their hand and kind of wondering what they thought was in the bag didn't quite smell right."
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The man in the driver's seat even appears to sniff his fingers and at one point turns on the light to see what's inside. He eventually tosses the bag out the window. All of this, much to the delight of many online who have seen the video which was posted by Buddy's daughter to TikTok, and even Buddy's mail carrier.
"He absolutely loved the concept and the execution!," smiles Buddy.
Porch pirates certainly aren't a new phenomenon and ABC7 News has covered them extensively across the Bay Area. Some manufacturers, like RING even came out with special mailbox cameras this holiday season to combat the problem.
RELATED: Crooks target mounted outdoor home security cameras in San Jose neighborhood
Buddy's method, seems to be effective.
When asked by ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim if the gentlemen in the video came back to their house or neighborhood? Buddy shakes his head no.
He has these words for any other porch pirates in the area.
"Bring it on! We've got many dogs we've got lots of poop!"
You can watch the full story tonight at 11p.m. on ABC7 News
