Police say man made 8-year-old steal more than $300 in packages from porches in Westmoreland Co.

YOUNGWOOD, Pa. — You expect your packages to be safely delivered, but for neighbors in one Westmoreland County neighborhood, they’ve been dealing with a local thief.

She didn’t want to be identified but a woman who lives on South Tenth Street in Youngwood was one of the first ones to call police after she noticed packages she ordered turned up missing.

“I came home from running errands and packages were; some were missing, some were gone through they always left the contents in the breezeway here between these two units,” the woman explained. “Other neighbors started coming out saying me too; me too, so then it became increasingly suspicious.”

State police say it was her neighbor Alexander Soroka who was stealing them.

“The officer who responded on Monday called and said we caught the person in action a street over; that’s how they discovered what was going on because someone said I just watched this little kid take a package and opened it and take the contents,” the woman said.

As police were investigating several other neighbors on South Tenth Street came forward and said they had their packages stolen, too. The 8-year-old boy allegedly told troopers Soroka told him to take the packages and bring them back to him.

“I think it’s disgusting. I have a child myself, and to even begin to think they could be told to commit this crime, it’s just sickening,” the woman explained.

Police say they found more than $300 worth of stolen goods, but Soroka said he sold even more.

Troopers say they’ve been responding to this area for several months—all for reports of stolen packages—and believe Soroka could be behind all of them.

Police still have to sift through other goods they believe were stolen by Soroka.

He’s in jail tonight on $100,000 bond and is expected to be in court next week.

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