Porch pirate steals packages in Greensburg, Fox Chapel, Plum; Indiana County man charged

An Indiana County man is accused by state police of taking packages delivered to porches in Greensburg, Fox Chapel and Plum and then putting the stolen goods up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

Troopers said they found numerous stolen packages at John D. Manning’s home in Armstrong Township, just outside Shelocta, and in the car he drove to various locations in Allegheny, Armstrong, Indiana and Westmoreland counties, according to court papers.

Manning, 34, is charged with organized retail theft, receiving stolen property, theft and related offenses. He was being held at the Indiana County Jail on $150,000 bail.

In court papers filed against him last week, a Greensburg woman told police she saw a postal worker drop off six packages Feb. 12 on her front porch. As the postal truck left, a white car pulled up and the driver took them all.

She provided a description of the car to Greensburg officers and they were able to find it on license plate readers.

Over the next two days, a person and car matching the same description swiped packages from two porches in Fox Chapel, according to court papers. On Feb. 17, the same person reportedly took a package from a Black Lick porch.

Troopers did surveillance on Manning’s home the next day and later picked him up after authorities got a call from a witness who saw a person matching his description take a package from a porch near Homer City.

During an interview with police, Manning admitted to numerous porch thefts spanning two months and said he sold a tablet and iPhone he stole from the Fox Chapel area, according to court papers.

On Feb. 27, Plum police reported Manning stole packages from porches that afternoon. He was arrested the next day.

He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for March 11.