Riverside police release video of male attempting to steal mail

A male was caught on camera Friday morning attempting to steal mail from the front porch of a home in west suburban Riverside.

A resident on the 100 block of Akenside Road caught the male on camera from video from his doorbell about 4:45 a.m. attempting the theft, according to Riverside police.

The person in the video was described by police as being male, white, young-looking, having facial hair with glasses and wearing a backpack. The same male tried to take mail from mailboxes on the front porch of homes on the 100 block of Nuttall Road and 200 block of Addison Road, with each of those incidents also taking place early Friday morning in Riverside.

“If you ever needed a reason as to why you should have a doorbell that records who approaches your front door, this video clearly shows you the advantages to having a video doorbell,” Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said. “In this case, it’s the ring doorbell, but the video is very clear, and we’re hoping that someone will recognize this individual and report it to my detectives.”

Anyone with information on the male in the video was asked to contact Riverside police at (708) 447-2127 and ask for Detective James Lazansky at ext. 279. Those with information were told they could also email the detective at jlazansky@riverside.il.us.

Someone with information can remain anonymous and do not have to leave their name to leave a tip, police said.