LAKE NONA, Fla. – A teen was arrested Wednesday after Orlando police said he was caught on surveillance video swiping packages off a doorstep in Lake Nona.
William Denning, 19, was charged with burglary of a structure and petit theft in the Tuesday incident.
The homeowner, Todd O'Neal, tells News 6 he has security cameras all over his house and caught the whole crime on camera.
The video shows a white car driving through the East Park subdivision, eventually backing up to O'Neal's house. The suspect jumped out of the car, ran up to the door, and stole two boxes from the front porch. Police say there was a Dooney and Burke purse and Orange Theory workout equipment inside, totaling $280.
O'Neal says this happened about 10 minutes before he got home.
"From the video it looks like they have a lot of other packages in the car, so I don't know maybe they do this for a living," O'Neal said.
Video posted online showed the man, identified as Denning, and the license plate of the vehicle he left in.
"It was everything that we needed to know to capture this guy," Orlando Police spokesperson Wanda Miglio said.
O'Neal tells News 6 he posted a picture of the suspect on social media and instantly got results. He says someone recognized the suspect and told O'Neal. O'Neal followed Denning to a Wawa on Narcoossee Road and called police. Denning was taken into custody.
"All the people on social media, friends, strangers, everybody just helps out," O'Neal said. "It's always a team effort to catch these guys."
This isn't the first time O'Neal's security system got results. His cameras helped Orlando police catch a suspect stealing laundry from his front porch in September.
OPD credits O'Neal's security system and social media for the arrest, calling it a community effort to catch the bad guys.
"Video is so important to helping us solve crimes and to be able to communicate with the neighborhoods, for them to communicate with police. and we're able to solve crimes much quicker than before," Miglio said.
Denning was booked into Orange County Jail. OPD says detectives are looking to see if he is involved in other similar crimes in the area.