An alert resident led to the arrest of a package thief on Thursday, after he immediately reported suspicious activity on his street to the Sheriff’s Office. The resident called the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 2:00pm, reporting that he observed a white male riding a bicycle around his neighbor’s home on the 2000 block of Harbor Blvd and acting suspicious. The resident stated he observed the suspicious male attempt to leave the neighbor’s property with several of the packages and he yelled at him to stop. The suspicious male yelled obscenities at him and fled the scene with some of the packages.
While deputies were searching the area for the suspect a caller on Gerald Court called in, reporting the same suspect was going through a neighbor’s mailbox. The deputies were able to locate the suspect on Catherine Avenue, following the second caller’s report on his direction of travel. The suspect was identified as Jason Cousino (12/29/83) and he was observed to have several opened packages addressed to the Harbor Blvd residence in his possession.
The witnesses who called in positively identified Cousino as the person they observed stealing packages and going through the mailbox. Cousino was arrested on Burglary and Petit Theft charges.
Many times, the Sheriff’s Office receives information on suspicious activity in a delayed manner, via messages on social media or reports in person at a community meeting. While deputies are still able to conduct an investigation on the delayed information, this incident serves as an excellent example of quickly reporting suspicious activity so the subject(s) can be immediately contacted by law enforcement.
Our non-emergency phone number is (941) 639-0013. This number is always answered by a dispatcher, who can send a deputy to investigate your concern. Add this number to your phone so you always have it ready!
Glad that someone observed the crime and called it in. It’s just to easy to not do anything. Two thumbs up for the officers who responded and the arrest of the suspect.