Shortly before 6 p.m. on Sept. 1, a man disguised as a food delivery driver entered a porch in West Wyomissing.
The man went through the motions of a food-delivery driver, drawing what turned out to be an empty brown Amazon package from a red bag used by a well-known food delivery platform and placing it on the porch, according to Spring Township police.
He then took two packages that had been delivered to the residence — one containing an anatomy and physiology laboratory manual valued at $91, and the other containing a microscope kit valued at $40.
A neighbor’s security camera recorded the man returning to a blue car that was parked on the street.
According to court documents:
A few days later, the victim received additional footage from the neighbor that showed what appeared to be the same car, possibly a Honda sedan, traveling down Hiester Boulevard, where the home is located, about 10 minutes before the theft.
Officer Elizabeth Fisher learned from fixed electronic surveillance that a blue Honda Civic was seen on nearby Shillington Road near Route 222 within a few minutes of that time frame. In still images from the footage, a red food-delivery bag similar to the one used by the thief could be seen through the rear window.
Fisher checked a PennDOT database and learned the car was registered to Richard Santiago-Medina, 40, of Reading.
Santiago-Medina of the 600 block of North 10th Street would later be charged by two departments with package thefts from porches.
After a few weeks of follow-up investigation, Fisher learned that Wyomissing police Criminal Investigator Ryan Solecki was investigating Santago-Medina as the suspect in a theft on the same date as the one in Spring Township. The specific location was unavailable.
Santiago-Medina was seen on security camera footage wearing the same outfit as in the theft in Spring.
On Oct. 21, Santiago-Medina came to the Wyomissing Police Department for an interview. Investigators noted he wore the same sunglasses that the suspect wore in the porch thefts. He also had similar tattoos.
Santiago-Medina at first denied taking the package. He later said that if he did it, he would pay for whatever was taken.
Santiago-Medina was charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and possessing an instrument of crime in both cases.
According to online court records, Santiago-Medina waived a hearing on the charges on Dec. 23. A day earlier, he was arraigned in the Spring Township case in Reading Central Court.
He remains free to await further court action.