Utah Teen Catches Porch Pirate With Unique Device

A suspected porch pirate is now in jail thanks to one family's clever idea. The suspected thief allegedly stole a package with a GPS tracking device inside, reported FOX 13 Salt Lake City.

Justin Bankhead lost many packages to porch pirates. He said, "We had two packages stolen in the past week." Bankhead had several hundred dollars worth of goods stolen from his porch, so he offered a $500 reward for any information leading to an arrest of a person caught stealing packages.

That's when Justin's son took him up on the offer. 14-year-old Cody Bankhead said, "I didn't care until I heard about the bounty."

Cody placed a box resembling a package on the family's front porch. That box contained an activated GPS tracking device.

Surveillance footage shows a man driving up to the house, snatching the package, and running off. Cody told his father someone had taken it so they called police.

"I don't think he had any clue that he had this coming," Justin said. "Everyone has these frustrations of these guys running around in neighborhoods having a free-for-all."

Justin made good on his promise and gave his son the reward money.

Justin said, "If you're going out there, you are going to get caught. People are smarting up."