Package thieves caught in the act in San Mateo

An officer “passing check” helped in locating suspected package thieves at an apartment complex on the 200 block of Eighth Avenue in San Mateo Thursday morning, according to police.

At about 4:30 a.m. Dec. 18, officers passed by the location as it had prior package thefts. While there, officers spotted two vehicles parked in front with packages on the ground next to them with no one around. Additional packages were inside in plain view. Descriptions of the suspects responsible for the previous package thefts were relayed to the officers, as was the vehicle information for the current incident. Shortly thereafter, a male was located and identified as the suspect in the previous theft. Witness statements informed officers the male had a female counterpart with him, who was eventually located as well. The vehicles were linked to these two subjects, and in this instance, officers learned the subjects entered the apartment complex’s secured package storage room and selected multiple packages from the shelves, which they then loaded into their vehicles before returning for more. Further investigation determined these subjects were responsible for at least three other package thefts since October, according to police.