NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — In the past two months, an East Nashville porch pirate has reportedly stolen dozens of packages, becoming such a problem that a Facebook group created an email for victims to share videos and stories of him.
“My neighbor and myself were hit [on] the same evening. It was caught on her camera; my camera was unfortunately dead,” Sara Buchanan said. “It happened a second time for me in early February, and it’s definitely gotten to the point where, for my neighbor and I, if either of us have a package delivered, we’re taking it inside our house.”
Buchanan has video of the suspect walking up to her porch and stealing packages. She’s spoken with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) about the theft, but she’s nervous to walk around her neighborhood.
“I pay a lot of money in rent to not be able to feel safe or comfortable walking outside of my own house,” Buchanan said. “I leave very early in the mornings, and I protect myself the way that I need to be protected, but I feel like I shouldn’t have to necessarily do that just walking to my car in the morning.”
On an East Nashville Facebook group, a post has hundreds of comments with people speaking about porch piracy. Some people in the group shared videos showing what appears to be the same man stealing packages while others talked about the man stealing from their porches.
After the video at the top of this story aired on Friday, Feb. 21, MNPD announced a “wanted porch pirate,” 63-year-old Billy Pemberton, had been arrested that afternoon in East Nashville for seven counts of stealing packages in the Cahal Avenue/Peerman Drive area over the last three weeks.
According to authorities, neighborhood cameras recorded this convicted felon swiping boxes and walking away.
There are several ways to protect your packages from thieves. According to the Better Business Bureau, you should always request to sign your deliveries, ship to a store or post office box, and opt in to notifications so you immediately know your packages have arrived.
