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Package thief taunts St. Paul victim with thank you note

ST. PAUL POLICE DEPARTMENT/STAR TRIBUNE VIA AP
                                A thief who stole a package from the front steps of a St. Paul home left a thank-you note behind. St. Paul police posted a picture of the note on Twitter on Friday, and reminded residents who are expecting deliveries to take precautions to avoid thefts.
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ST. PAUL POLICE DEPARTMENT/STAR TRIBUNE VIA AP

A thief who stole a package from the front steps of a St. Paul home left a thank-you note behind. St. Paul police posted a picture of the note on Twitter on Friday, and reminded residents who are expecting deliveries to take precautions to avoid thefts.

ST. PAUL, MINN. >> A package thief who made off with a woman’s delivery in St. Paul this week decided to leave something behind for the victim — a handwritten thank you note taunting her for the package.

Homeowner Hilary Smith said she found the note on her porch after she got home from work, hours after she received a text saying that her package had been delivered.

The note said: “So just a quick little thank you for leaving me the opportunity of stealing your package. Very nice of you. Thank You.” It was signed: “The new owner of your package.”

St. Paul police posted a picture of the note on Twitter on Friday, and reminded residents who are expecting deliveries to take precautions to avoid thefts.

Smith said she appreciates hand-crafted thank you notes, but not in this case.

She told the Pioneer Press the package was a portable phone charger for her boss, and she initially didn’t report it. But she posted a photo of the note to a Facebook group and received hundreds of comments, including one from a woman who said the police could test the note for prints.

“I just want the word to get out. Now they’re getting brazen,” Smith said of package thieves.

Police Sgt. Mike Ernster told the Star Tribune the move was “unbelievable.”

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