Police searching for man accused of stealing packages, impersonating mail carrier

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29) - Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service want your help identifying a man, possibly impersonating a mail carrier, caught on surveillance cameras taking packages.

The home surveillance video obtained by Fox 29, taken near 17th and Porter streets on Tuesday, shows a man in what appears to be a mail carrier hat approaching a porch less than two minutes after a UPS worker drops off packages.

A nearby neighbor, Vasilio Marchio, says he heard his neighbor screaming.

"I said what's going on? She said, 'he's taking the packages!' So I start running after him," he says.

The surveillance video shows Marchio and a few others following the man. It also shows a car stopping in the middle of the roadway.

Marchio says the driver of that car tackled the man with the packages. He helped hold the man down while the driver got up.

They were able to collect the packages, but they let the man go.

"He did a good job, he was the hero, he jumped on top of him," says Marchio. "In the moment, you don't think about calling the police or taking a picture of him or anything else. You didn't want him to turn around with a gun or a knife, he was a big guy."

Philadelphia police officers and the U.S. Postal Inspector went out to the neighborhood on Friday to collect information.

Inspector Reginald Wade says the man on video could be facing charges for two separate crimes.

"We can't have individuals going around and just stealing packages off the street or off people's porches, much less doing it in a carrier's uniform, wearing a hat and impersonating a federal employee, that's a federal crime," he says.

If you have any information on the man in the video, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service tip line at 1-877-876-2455.