Man takes revenge on porch pirates

Victim adds stinky surprise to stolen packages

PORTLAND, Ore. (KYMA, KSWT, KECY) - An Oregon man calls his smelly packages sweet revenge.

After having packages stolen off his porch, he unleashed his imagination on the culprits.

Matt Coats fell victim to porch pirates one too many times.

"Feeling so violated. Like, to have somebody come up into your space and take something that's yours." says Coats.

Eventually, frustration spurred him to action.

"I had something disappear off the porch and it was really frustrating. So, I figured it would probably happen again. So, I filled up a box full of... dog poop."

Coats carefully positioned his carefully packed "gift," then waited for something to happen. It only took three days for the box to disappear.

Coats' security cameras caught all the action.

"One of the reasons I got all the video cameras is because I knew that - it wasn't going to stop people from stealing packages, but I'd have great footage when they did do it." he says.

And he was right. First surveillance video shows the crook stealing one neighbor's holiday light projector right off the front lawn. The thief then grabs Coats' bait package, before helping himself to the $120 worth of clothing sitting on another neighbor's stoop.

Coats didn't get to see the grinch's face when he opened his "special delivery," but a friend found his pay-back package about four block away.

"I was really excited, came home, my wife had gone and picked up the box and threw it away for me." he says.

And Coats is just getting started. He plans to fill another box with a mixture of Christmas tree trimmings and dish soap.

"This should be super annoying if it gets opened up."

He's also looking for a really big box to hold a really big surprise.

"Because that would be amazing - to watch somebody try to steal a tree stump." Coats declares.

He realizes his holiday plot won't stop porch pirates, but he admits the payback feels pretty good.

"If we're going to be annoyed out here, why not have a little fun with it. Ya know, why not make their lives kind of a pain too."

Police tell Coats they think all the thefts in his neighborhood are the work of one person.