Package thieves target La Jolla homes, with series of thefts reported this month

Two people whom some are describing as “Bonnie and Clyde” have been stealing packages and mail from La Jolla homes recently, with a reported rash of thefts in mid-May.

As seen on home security footage, the male driver pulls up to a house, the female passenger grabs a package left unattended on a porch and throws it in the car, and the two drive away.

Posts on social media indicate that a series of packages were taken between May 12 and May 19 from The Village and the La Jolla Alta and La Jolla Heights neighborhoods.

Ryan Callan said a package was stolen from him May 15. “We were out of town and didn’t know our package had been stolen until we looked at our security cameras,” he said. “We could see in the footage the car and that they had five or six packages in the back.

“It’s a little scary for our neighborhood, especially the brazenness of it. These people know residents have cameras and know their faces are getting around. They have no problem going right up to someone’s house and taking something. It makes you feel vulnerable.”

That sentiment was shared by others. One La Jolla resident who did not want to be identified posted that “someone pulled up in their car in broad daylight” and stole two packages.

More than 100 comments, some describing similar thefts, have been posted.

Callan said the car was seen in The Village the morning of May 19.

Home security footage captures a woman suspected of stealing packages from La Jolla porches.

(Courtesy of Ryan Callan)

The thieves often are masked, but the female was described as possibly in her late 20s, with brown hair and a fit build. The car is a gray Audi A4. The license plate number reported to police is 8KTY543, according to Community Relations Officer Brandon Broaddus of the San Diego Police Department’s Northern Division.

The same pair in the same car was spotted months ago in the La Jolla Heights neighborhood. Resident Matt Heine told the La Jolla Light in January that he saw the two “emptying mailboxes” and that he tried to chase them down.

“My wife originally observed the couple driving down the street and stopping at everyone’s mailbox, and then as they got closer realized they were taking all the mail out,” Heine said. “She called me and I jumped in my car and drove out of our road; I found them in a neighboring street stealing mail out of more mailboxes. Their car was full of packages and mail. At this point I took a photo of them and they saw me and sped out of our neighborhood driving the wrong way down a one-way street as they left at high speed.”

Home security footage shows a woman suspected of stealing packages from La Jolla porches and loading them into a waiting car.

(Courtesy of Ryan Callan)

Broaddus said he has received “numerous complaints” about the thefts and has forwarded them to an investigating detective. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to email bbroaddus@pd.sandiego.gov.

In addition to those cases, La Jolla resident Ann Dynes reported that golf clubs valued at more than $2,500 were taken from her car by a female thief who “gained access to our garage and stole my golf clubs out of my foolishly unlocked car.”

She said she believes the thief is the same woman who took the packages, though the car used was a white Chevrolet.

Broaddus said that instead of having packages delivered to one’s home, he recommends using services such as Amazon lockers for Amazon deliveries. The lockers are self-service kiosks in which packages are stored until they are picked up. In La Jolla, Amazon lockers are at the 7-Eleven store at 6953 La Jolla Blvd. and on the UC San Diego campus. ◆