Neighborhood Video Leads to Porch Pirate Arrest NR15357pv

Tarzana. Acting on information
gleaned from a local resident’s home surveillance video, LAPD
officers arrested Ramon
Sean Horton, 32, at a home in Northridge, October 9, 2015. The
investigation uncovered a mass of stolen property and a
sophisticated operation of tracking delivery trucks to coordinate
thefts.

“We were incredulous when we saw the suspect on video following the
UPS truck in a rented U-Haul pick-up,” explained Capt. Paul Vernon,
Commanding Officer of the West Valley Patrol Division. “Once at the
suspect’s house, we found they were tracking UPS trucks on a phone
app, too.”

The case started the day before when Tarzana resident Rick Deckman
got a phone alert that a package had been delivered by UPS on his
porch, but when he got home later that evening, there was no
package. Deckman scanned his home video system to the time when he
first received the phone alert. He saw a tall, thin Black man
taking the package off the porch and driving away in a rented
pickup.

Senior Lead Officer Daryl Scoggins took the lead on this case after
Deckman sent him the video. “The video quality was excellent,”
Scoggins explained. “We were able to trace the license plate to a
woman in Northridge. It was a great break for us. It’s always a
challenge to catch these porch pirates because there’s rarely any
leads.”

Officers served a search warrant Thursday evening after detaining
Horton and home owner, Olga Efimova, 26, a few blocks away from the
house. Detectives seized credit cards in the names of at least four
other people, and noted a cache of merchandise, some of it still in
the wrapper. They found Deckman’s stolen package, plus packages
from three other persons living in Tarzana and Reseda.

Officers booked Horton and Efimova on charges related to theft by
means of using another’s credit card access. Horton may also be
charged with mail and package theft. He is currently on probation,
and his bail was set at $45,000. Efomova may be charged
additionally with possession of methamphetamine and car
embezzlement, for her failure to return the rented pickup. Her bail
was set at $20,000.

Video of the theft is available
through LAPD’s YouTube channel. Officer Daryl Scoggins can be
reached for interviews at 818 731-2573. Mr. Deckman, the homeowner,
is also available for interviews.

Anyone with information on this crime is urged to call Det. William
Dunn, West Valley Burglary detectives, at (818) 374-7674. Anonymous
tips can be called into Crimestoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477), or by
texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All
text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Online tips may
be placed at www.LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the
prompts.