Home surveillance camera captures thieves stealing packages

Surveillance video recorded earlier this week in the Mountain Estates gated community in Indio shows a woman stopping in front of a house, walking up to the front door, and making away with multiple packages delivered just minutes before.

“Shocked. It’s in broad daylight, it’s amazing,” said Brandon Schmidt, whose cameras caught the thieves outside his home.

She even left behind a token of sort.

“She went to the next community over, took a package, left that empty package with address on my doorstep in exchange for three of mine,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt runs an auto business out of his home and says she stole about $250 worth of car parts. He’ll have to replace them out of his own pocket.

He says this isn’t the first time he’s a caught a thief in the act in his neighborhood. He filed a police report about a man stealing packages last November.

“I moved into a gated community, it’s a false sense of security but at the same time you don’t leave your doors open for it,” Schmidt said.

Residents say one reason this may be happening is the gate of the community remains open all day long, meaning anyone at any time can drive in.

“Numerous people suggested a key code and they can go straight to the sale office,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt told the developer, DR Horton about his concerns. Reps reportedly told him it’s policy to leave the gate open in order to sell models. Much of the community remains under construction.

“I don’t think a closed gate is going to stop people from buying a home if they wanted to. And if people new the crime that was going on here they wouldn’t want to buy a home here,” Schmidt said.

We called DR Horton, but the company did not respond. Indio Police Department is investigating this incident.

In the meantime Schmidt says he hopes getting the video out in public will help bring these thieves to justice.