PORTSMOUTH, Va (WVEC) – — Christopher Rudder was supposed to receive brand new shoes at his home, but that never happened when a video caught a thief stealing from his porch.
Watching the video infuriated him to the point where he was determined to make it stop.
"I'm not going to tolerate injustice. I'm not going to tolerate stealing from others, so this is a situation where I wanted to let the person know 'You can't do this,’” Rudder said.
He decided he wanted the thief to come back to this home off Norcom Circle so his camera could catch the suspect’s face. The plan would involve his dog, Ceasar.
"I'm going to have to leave a bait box," Rudder said. "So, I get these old shoes and I put Ceasar's [poop] behind and I put in a box along with a note basically saying return my shoes. Portsmouth Police knows where you are."
Days later, someone else was caught on camera, returning to Rudder’s home and stealing the poopy package. The box was later found about a block away when Rudder was walking his dog. It was ripped apart and empty.
“I hope he got exactly what he wanted when he got home,” Rudder said.
He doesn't know if the person in the video is the same in both incidents. He said he hopes others learn from his smelly situation.
"If you have any packages, get them shipped to your job. If you don't want to do that, have it shipped to your PO box,” Rudder said. "Don't think twice that it won't happen to you. Because I didn't think it would happen to me."
Rudder plans to place a tracker in the box if it continues to happen at his home.