Skateboarding Suspect Rolls Up To Brooklyn Homes, Rolls Away With Packages

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A rolling robber was caught on surveillance video this month.

He skateboarded past a Ditmas Park, Brooklyn home and stopped once he spotted a package on the porch just after noon on March 29.

Almost losing his getaway wheels, he stole the delivery from Robert Tolchin's home.

"We found the box on the neighbor's lawn across the street," Tolchin told CBS2's Tracee Carrasco.

The box contained a guitar cable for Tolchin's daughter and a coffee pot.

A nearly identical crime took place in neighboring Prospect Park South on Friday. The skateboarding suspect pulled up to a home on Buckingham Road, and grabbed a box hidden behind a chair. Apparently he didn't like what was inside.

"I was walking to the subway and there was a box, on the corner of Buckingham and Albomar, a heavy box, 30 or 40 pounds," Gary Zelko said.

Zelko found the abandoned box, containing dog food, and returned it to his neighbors.

Zelko was also a robbery victim, possibly of the same box bandit, two weeks ago.

Now, both homeowners said they're keeping a close watch on who's hanging out in their neighborhood.

"If you don't feel secure to receive deliveries, then you can't enjoy that convenience," Zelko said.

The NYPD encourages residents to file a police report is a package is stolen from their home, especially if the thief is caught on surveillance video.