Florida porch pirate stole packages, planned to re-gift them for Christmas
A porch pirate, who was caught on camera being a Grinch and stealing Amazon packages in broad daylight, was stealing the packages to re-gift them, Florida police said.
Kensley Mott, 32, was seen on the victim’s home surveillance camera walking up to the porch, taking numerous Amazon boxes, and driving off in a red truck.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Mott had her eye on the prize and followed the Amazon delivery truck to a subdivision in Winter Haven, Florida.
She stole the packages from front porches in the neighborhood between noon and 12:30 p.m. on Monday, police said.
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After reviewing the victim's surveillance videos, investigators found Mott at her place of employment-- a Hungry Howie’s pizza restaurant.
Authorities said that when they asked Mott about the evidence, she told deputies she was planning on re-gifting the stolen items at Christmas.
According to Sheriff Judd, when deputies asked her to return the packages, so they could return them to their owners, she refused.
According to Judd, when shown the doorbell footage of her stealing the packages, she responded, "what if it was someone else who just had my face?"
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"Now she's got a red nose because she was crying at some point in time," Judd said at a press conference on Wednesday. "This is not ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’ This is Kensley the red-nosed criminal. Locked up. Porch pirate."
Sheriff Judd said that during the holidays, porch pirates are most prevalent and encouraged residents to invest in a security system.
"It's that time of year when porch pirates are most prevalent. If at all possible, have your packages delivered when someone will be home, to a friend or neighbor's home, or to your place of business. If not, invest in a security system that alerts you immediately when someone is on your porch. This prolific thief is probably going to spend Christmas behind bars this year," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
She has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2016 for arrests for petit theft, grand theft, and narcotics possession.
Mott was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail for grand theft, felony petit theft, and two counts of burglary of a dwelling.