TREASURE COAST, Fla. — A new law designed to keep porch pirates from pilfering your packages took effect this week.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 549 in Stuart back in April. The new law allows for harsher penalties on porch pirates.
If the dollar value of the property stolen is valued at $40 or more, that’s now a third degree felony. If it’s less than that, the crime is a first degree misdemeanor, but a subsequent violation is a third-degree felony.
In the Tradition neighborhood of Port St. Lucie, there are a lot of porches.
It was there Wednesday where we found Dan Parrella getting ready for Halloween, bringing down his lights from the attic. Parrella recalled last year, someone tried to snag a package from his porch. He saw it on his Ring camera.
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"It happened to indicate there was somebody on the porch who didn’t belong there," said Parrella. "Boom, we acted, got him. So, he ran.”
Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said the holiday season is when porch pirates do most of their work and neighborhoods near the interstate are attractive targets.
He said video doorbells are a plus.
“At this point, there’s a lot of folks who have Ring doorbells. Companies have gotten a lot better at taking photographs of packages when they leave them," said Flowers. "Overall, I think the problem seems to be righting itself. The new legislation is certainly helpful for us.”
The law also tackles organized retail theft with crimes punishable by anywhere from five to 30 years in prison depending on how many people are involved, and whether a firearm is used.
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