Suspected porch pirate tied to multiple cases caught in Forsyth County

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. - Forsyth County deputies arrested a suspected porch pirate who was allegedly holding stolen packages from different counties in the back of his car. 

Investigators believe the suspect is connected to nine cases across the county, and possibly others in surrounding counties.

RELATED: Roswell porch pirate may have hit Forsyth County too

Deputies arrested Tanaka Mangadze on Dec. 7.

"We have had some porch pirate reports taken in the past week. We had about nine cases and the most recent case, the victim called because he saw the guy on his ring camera," said Stacie Miller, the Public Information Office for the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. "This one white car was associated in several of our cases."

In the back of the car, investigators say deputies found open boxes with addresses from across the county and surrounding counties. They also say they found merchandise worth hundreds of dollars in the vehicle's trunk.

"What he was doing is he would go to one house [and] take a package. If he didn't like the contents of that package, he would put it at somebody else's door and take their package. So he was picking and choosing what packages he wanted to hold on to," said Miller.

Miller confirms investigators believe the suspect was seen in a red sweatshirt in one resident's surveillance images, while dropping off a box. The resident tells FOX 5 that the shoes found inside the box did not belong to them.

Mangadze is charged with theft by taking and possession of marijuana.

Miller says package thefts have increased since the COVID era, with more people purchasing things online.

"Have it delivered to a trustful neighbor, have it delivered to your office, or if you're using Amazon, have it delivered to the Amazon lockers. Always watch your ring cameras," said Miller.

The suspect remains in jail and could face additional charges.