CLERMONT, Fla. – An 11-year-old girl is being credited with helping to apprehend a man suspected of stealing packages off porches last week in Lake County.
Lake County sheriff's investigators said they received videos from two separate homes on Thursday showing a man walking up to the front door and taking a box that had been recently left by a delivery man.
"What is he doing with our package and why is he putting it in his car?" asked Jennifer Lutes, who said she watched what happened at her home on her surveillance camera. "It’s like, 'Oh my God, we were just robbed.'"
As that was happening, 11-year-old Isabella Miller said she was walking home from the bus stop after school.
"He walked up the lawn, grabbed the box, and that’s when I went inside," she told News 6.
Isabella said she told her father what she had seen, and she said he took a picture of the man's license plate.
Deputies said that information led them to Carlos Moreno Marquez, 34, whom they arrested and charged with grand theft.
"I’m thrilled that she was able to say something," said Chris Miller, Isabella's father. "If she didn’t say anything, he'd probably still be out taking packages."
"For her to have the courage to say something, I think it’s a pretty big deal," said Lutes, who lives next door. "It’s worthy of a lot of respect, and it’s worthy of notice."
Isabella said she has some advice for other children her age and older.
"Pay attention to those little details to make sure you’re always watching and you’re always listening," she said.
Moreno Marquez is being held in the Lake County Jail on $38,000 bond.