From the Fortuna Police Department:

On December 22, 2017 at approx. 8:15 am, Fortuna Police Department received a report of a male who had just stolen a package from the front porch of a residence on the 500 block of Summer Street.  The victim told police he was chasing the male on Fortuna Blvd.  

Officers arrived in the area and began searching for the suspect.  The Sergeant contacted the victim who told Police the suspect had thrown the package while the victim was chasing him.  The victim provided a description of the suspect and his last known location.  While Officers were searching the area, the Sergeant observed a male matching the description provided by the victim walk into a backyard of a residence on the 1600 block of Newburg Road.  Officers entered the backyard and located Demarcus Conley hiding near a fence. Conley was detained without incident.  The victim was transported to the scene and positively identified Conley as the suspect in the theft.  Conley was arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Jail and booked for the following charges.

• PC 488- Petty Theft
• PC 647(h)- Prowling on private property

The Fortuna Police Department would like to thank the alert citizen and home owner who contacted police after noticing suspicious activity in their neighborhood.  During the holiday season, the Fortuna Police Department routinely fields an increased number of theft calls in regards to packages being stolen from the front porches of residences.  Due to the heightened awareness of these citizens, the victim was able to retrieve his property and an arrest was made.  The police department would like to remind citizens if they observe suspicious activity in their neighborhoods to contact the Police Department 725-7550.