Queens man sets fake package to catch alleged porch pirate
QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — A Queens homeowner was fed up with porch pirates, so he devised a creative ploy to catch a thief last week —and it worked.
Carlos Mejia is a father, husband and now defender of his home from porch pirates. Meija devised a plan to entrap the thief who’s been stealing packages off his stoop for three days.
“I decided to put a package out there, as a decoy,” he told PIX11 News.
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After setting the trap, Mejia waited patiently with his wife for the alleged repeat offender to take the bait. Then on March 30, the suspect, Richard Stazzone, attempted to snatch the package but was stopped by a bat-swinging Mejia.
In the video, Stazzone is shown trying to hop the fence to flee, however, Mejia apprehends him and demands that Stazzone “gets on his knees.”
“He tried to fight me, and I put him down again and said you’re not going to win,” Mejia said.
The “trap package” was allegedly filled with Mejia’s dog feces and french fries.
Amidst the commotion, Mejia’s daughter called 911 and waited for the police to arrive.
Stazzone, 36, revealed that he lives around the corner in the Richmond Hill neighborhood. Officers arrested Stazzone, and he is facing multiple charges, authorities said.
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