"Total violation": Stolen Christmas packages found discarded in Watertown
WATERTOWN - A Watertown family was reunited with their stolen Christmas packages thanks to the help of a neighbor, but it may have been too late.
Joanne Afarian discovered three discarded boxes under the shrubs in front of her house on Tuesday and when she checked her doorbell video, she discovered thieves had dumped them there last Friday.
"They were walking here, holding these boxes and just dumping them on the ground right here," said Afarian as she watched the two shadowy figures on the video. "It felt like a bit of a violation, it's a little scary."
The boxes contained a toy, some Christmas lights and Christmas cards and envelopes all printed and ready to be mailed, but now soggy and waterlogged after the weekend rain.
"My estimate is that someone stole them, grabbed them off someone's porch. They took what they wanted and saw it was a lot of things not valuable to them like a Christmas letter, so they just got rid of it," said Afarian.
The homeowners are Alex and Angela Giannantonio, who live just around the corner and were contacted by Watertown police thanks to a call from Joanne Afarian.
Unfortunately, it's too late given the condition of the items, and the family says it's a lesson learned about package deliveries. "Total violation, it's just unfortunate this kind of thing happens any time of year, but more so around the holidays," said Alex Giannantonio.
The toy was for a donation, the Christmas cards have been reordered, but Watertown police say it's a cautionary tale. "Make sure you track the package and when it's delivered so someone can be home, if possible, or alert a neighbor to the delivery," said Watertown Sgt. Kenneth Swift.
"We thought they were long gone," said Angela Giannantonio.
