A New York City resident — fed up with his packages being stolen —staged fake parcels to lure a porch pirate and hold him accountable.
Security footage posted to TikTok — which has since gone viral with more than 800,000 views — shows a would-be robber allegedly trying to steal a fake package from Carlos Mejia’s home on March 30, 2024, Fox News reported. Mejia then storms out of the house, confronting the man while wielding a baseball bat.
“Oh, s–t, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, I just didn’t want nobody to take it, bro!” replied the alleged thief, later identified as 36-year-old Victor Stazzone.
“What you got in there?” Meija can be heard asking.
Stazzone tells Mejia that the package is actually his, and he lives nearby, to which Mejia responds, “I don’t give a f–k” before forcing him onto the ground.
“Get on your knees. Get on your knees right now! Get on your f—ing knees!” Mejia yells.
@lossmokes1 Caught thief
Another video shows Stazzone being arrested after the incident.
@lossmokes1
The New York Police Department reported that Stazzone is facing charges of petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and criminal trespass.
Mejia revealed in another TikTok video that the fake package only contained old french fries, trash, and a note that read, “Keep stealing our s–t and you wont [sic] make it to the next year b-tch a– f—ing c–t!!”
Mejia told Storyful he was “done” with porch pirates and decided to leave “decoy packages” to lure thieves. He added that “plenty” of his neighbors were “tired of people just following the UPS, FedEx, USPS deliveries and taking everything we work hard for.”
“I was just trying to make an example for those out there doing the same thing … stealing from others,” Mejia said.