By: Jose Carranza
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – The Fayetteville Police Department reminded residents that package thefts are now considered felonies in the state of Arkansas.
House Representative Lee Johnson sponsored house bill 1317 in February to change package thefts from misdemeanors to felonies. The bill looked to outline definitions and an declare an emergency that states:
"It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and public health restrictions and advisories, more people are ordering household items and goods to be delivered to their residences; that instead of just luxury items and mail order items, vital household items such as disinfectants, masks, cleaners, food, and other vital and necessary supplies are being shipped directly to people's houses; and that this act is immediately necessary because the vital and necessary items are being stolen instead of just luxury items and mail order items are depended on by Arkansas families trying to stay safe from the pandemic."
“For these people they just came around and randomly steal the package, now sometimes they were stealing things now that they were essential for people so it’s important we made some changes to that law,” said Johnson, “In order to investigate a misdemeanor they have to see the person commit a crime and so by moving it to a class D felony, we were able to create a situation now where the police can better investigate these kinds of thefts.”
Arkansas Code § 5-4-401 states that “for a Class D felony, the sentence shall not exceed six (6) years,” meaning that package thefts could now face up to 6 years in jail.
Arkansas Code § 5-4-201 states that defendants convicted of a felony can face fines “not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) if the conviction is of a Class C felony or Class D felony.”
The Fayetteville Police Department reminded residents through a Facebook post that package thefts were now a felony. They also included footage of package thefts in Fayetteville for ongoing investigations.
According to Sergeant Anthony Murphy says, posting the footage on their Facebook page has assisted them with investigations previously.
“We were able to arrest quite a few individuals because people took their surveillance of their homes into their own hands and helped law enforcement solve those cases,” says Murphy.
Fayetteville resident Irving Macias was victim to a package theft earlier this year in April. According to Macias, his wife came home to look for the delivered package and found nothing.
“The packet was gone and she got here, it should’ve been here. I was at work she notified me the package wasn’t here. I was like well as I can review the cameras,” said Macias.
Macias reviewed footage from the incident and posted it to Facebook group What’s wrong, Fayetteville? hoping someone may help find their thief. After finding out about package thefts becoming a felony, Macias discussed option with his mailman and decided to use a deck box that hides packages from sight.
If victim to any package thefts, file a report with Fayetteville Police Department at (479)587-3555