A South Lake Tahoe man is being credited for the arrest of two people Thursday afternoon after he saw them slowly cruising his neighborhood and stealing a package off a neighbor’s front porch.
The unidentified man saw the two suspects, later identified as Brandon Graves Perreira and Virginia Morries of Gustine, Calif., inside a white, lifted Chevy Silverado pickup, driving down Tanglewood Avenue when they stopped in front of a home that had a package on the porch. He saw Morris get out, take the package and return with it to the truck. The neighbor then saw the truck with the two suspects continue slowly down the street when another neighbor’s porch was inspected by the woman.
The alert neighbor called 911 and reported the circumstances along with a description of the vehicle and its occupants. South Lake Tahoe Police officers responded to investigate, but the vehicle had left the area upon their arrival.
Officers continued to look for this vehicle during the course of their watch when it was spotted parked in the South Y Shopping Center. They conducted a brief surveillance of the parked truck until they saw Perreira and Morris return to it.
Perreira, 24, and Morris, 26, were on felony probation for a host of drug and theft charges in Stanislaus County which allowed police to conduct a search of the pair, their vehicle and its contents. They discovered the stolen property, which turned out to be new tire chains that the victim had ordered.
The reporting party personally identified both people and their truck as those he watched in his neighborhood at the time he called. Officers arrested both suspects and charged them with felony conspiracy to commit a crime, misdemeanor theft, and for violating probation.
Th South Lake Tahoe Police Department reminds residents that this type of theft increases during the holidays, though it can occur at any time. They encourage strong neighborhood relationships to help ward away the potential for such crimes. Residents should consider options of asking a trusted person to watch for, and to secure, such deliveries if they anticipate the possibility of being away from home when a delivery is made. Conspicuous home security signs posted in front of a residence, as well as video cameras can also help to deter such crimes of opportunity and to identify suspects should a theft occur.