Two men, one from out-of-state, accused in porch pirate incidents in Ashland
ASHLAND – Two men — one from Hazleton and one from Massachusetts — are in Schuylkill County Prison, accused of swiping packages from porches in Ashland Wednesday morning.
Ricardo Velez Duarte, 46, of Worcester, Mass, and Alex Tavarez Fernandez, 23, of Hazleton, were arrested on charges of theft and receiving stolen property.
Ashland Police Chief Ger Daley said police were called for a package theft on Walnut Street Wednesday morning.
FedEx delivered a package and, shortly after, two men pulled up in a black vehicle, jumped out, and took the package from the porch.
The same incident happened a few minutes later with a USPS-delivered package on North 9th and both incidents were captured on home security cameras.
The two men were located by with the help of Butler Township and Frackville police and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli.
They were committed to Schuylkill County Prison, unable to post $50,000 cash bail.
Daley said the incident appears to be a trend starting in the area.
“Actors are targeting delivery vehicles — FedEx, UPS, Amazon, or your local post office,” he said. “Once the package is delivered, they follow behind and take the package from your porch.”
Daley suggested having a way to secure a package right after delivery could deter that type of crime, and in case of any such incident, report it to local police.
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