Jefferson City Police arrested a 43-year-old male Wednesday who was suspected of being the thief in a video of a man taking a package off of a Callaway County porch on Tuesday. After being arrested, the man confessed to multiple thefts in the Callaway County, Jefferson City and Holts Summit areas. He will face charges in several jurisdictions, according to a Holts Summit Police Department press release.
According to the release, a Callaway County resident, while reviewing video footage from her security system, saw a man pull his vehicle into the driveway of her home in Lake MyKee around 2:10 p.m. Tuesday. The man took a package off of her porch, placed it in his car and drove away.
The victim of that theft posted the security camera video online and shared it on her Facebook page. Her post stated that her children's Christmas gifts were in the package and she asked the public to help find the suspect in the video.
In a matter of a few hours, the video was shared on Facebook hundreds of times. The suspect's family members recognized him in the video and contacted the Holts Summit Police Department.
Holts Summit officers contacted the Callaway County Sheriff's Department and the Jefferson City Police Department. Officials located the suspect in Jefferson City and arrested him just before lunchtime Wednesday.
Sgt. Marc Haycook with Holts Summit Police said the mid-Missouri man is cooperating with police. Officials are working to recover all of the packages the man confessed to taking. Any packages they recover will be returned to their rightful owners.
Officials ask that anyone who has had packages stolen recently contact their local law enforcement agency to report the theft if they have not already done so.
To view the security system video of Tuesday's theft, which the victim posted online, click here.