West Hartford police have arrested two delivery men who are accused of stealing packages from homes while they were making other deliveries.
The suspects, Jonathan Mendez, 25, and Antony Ortiz-Malave, 21, both of Hartford, were working for a sub-contractor that makes deliveries for W. B. Mason while they were stealing packages, according to West Hartford police.
Officers started investigating when a Somerset Street resident witnessed the men steal packages around 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday, police said.
He said he saw a white van pull up in front of his house, then a man got out, walked toward his house and grabbed two packages that had been delivered earlier, police said.
The resident then confronted the man, who dropped the packages and went back to the van, but the resident was able to get the license plate number and his wife called West Hartford Police, police said.
Sergeant Brett Balisciano found the van on Interstate 84 and stopped it with help from Hartford Police. Inside, they found packages stolen from a house on Westgate Street in West Hartford and recovered around $200 in property.
Mendez was driving and Ortiz-Malave was the passenger, police said, and both were charged with sixth-degree larceny and sixth-degree criminal attempt.
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Both men were released and are due in court next Wednesday, Dec. 16.
It’s not clear if either man is being represented by an attorney.
Police are also investigating to see if these men might be connected to other package thefts that have occurred in town.
They urge people to report any suspicious activity in their area and to remove packages from their front porches as soon as possible.
