Lyons police chief says he’s frustrated that he can’t keep serial porch pirate behind bars
By Marissa Sulek
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LYONS, Chicago (WBBM) — Local News Lyons police chief says he’s frustrated that he can’t keep serial porch pirate behind bars chicago By Marissa Sulek Updated on: September 30, 2025 / 10:41 PM CDT / CBS Chicago
Suburban police said they’re fed up with a serial porch pirate who continues to be let out of jail.
A homeowner who took things into his own hands to help stop the thief. Now, a police chief is speaking out, saying he’s frustrated they can’t keep the man behind bars, and shared how he may be choosing his targets.
Lyons police said 27-year-old Joseph Davenport is the man who has been stealing packages from suburban homes for months.
Jaleel Anthony was also fed up with the serial porch pirate. He confronted him, with a gun in hand, after placing fake packages to lure him. Police later found Davenport’s car had over 30 packages inside.
“I walked into the detectives a couple days ago and said, ‘I do not want to hear the name Davenport again.'”
Lyons Police Chief Thomas Herion said they have charged Davenport six different times for theft, and it’s costing taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Court documents from a 2023 case indicated that Davenport worked at the Amazon sorting center in University Park. Chief Herion believes that’s the method to his madness.
“Every single theft we’ve had, the packages are delivered in 15 to 30 minutes, he shows up,” he said.
Police sent out an alert in the last few weeks. In it, they said Davenport indicated he was working with another person inside Amazon, but would not give any other information when he was questioned.
Chief Herion said they’ve spoken with Amazon, but they would not cooperate.
Another frustration for herion, he said, is that because of the Illinois Safe-T Act, they cannot detain Davenport with a misdemeanor theft charge. So once they catch him, they must release him.
“We are trying to coordinate with the state’s attorney’s office to upgrade charges against this individual,” Herion said.
As to what Davenport is doing with the packages, Chief Herion says they still are not sure, but they plan to search his cell phone and find out in the coming weeks.
“I think everyone needs to know about this individual. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t doing this throughout the city of Chicago,” he said.
CBS News Chicago reached out to Amazon for a comment, but haven’t heard back.
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