A persistent thief snatched pricey deliveries from west London porches during a weeks-long spree.
Ronald De-St-Aubin, 61, plagued residents in Parsons Green, where he took packages containing wine, clothes and homeware.
His spree in the Fulham neighbourhood started on July 13, when the man snatched an H&M parcel of children’s clothing worth £196.
Four days later, he took three boxes of wine and champagne worth £500, which he admitted at Isleworth Crown Court.
After the drinks delivery was dropped off, Charlie Evans watched on her Ring doorbell camera how De-St-Aubin slipped onto her porch and took off.
Ms Evans said she had tried to reschedule the delivery, but DHL dropped it off anyway.
She raised the alarm in the residents’ WhatsApp group about the theft on St Maur Road, but De-St-Aubin managed to strike again.
Some minutes later, he grabbed a Vinted parcel from outside a flat on Parsons Green Lane containing an Isabel Marant second-hand designer jacket worth £60.
He admitted to stealing an Arket parcel containing kids’ clothing to the value of £195.40 on August 8 and a ceiling light fitting worth £150 two days later.
Two days later, an eagle-eyed resident filmed him on his iPhone after seeing him take a large parcel from a porch.
He called the police, but the thief had fled, and officers were unable to track him down.
On September 5, two days before his arrest, De-St-Aubin stole a package containing cosmetics, a kitchen product and a DVD titled ‘The Ascent of Money.’
CCTV footage showed the culprit wearing a baseball cap, a black T-shirt or vest, and shorts with an ankle tag on his left leg.
He also sported distinctive tattoos, with outlines of shapes or animals.
De-St-Aubin first denied six charges of theft in court, but one question from the judge changed his mind.
Judge Martin Edmunds KC asked his defence lawyers: ‘I am looking at the Ring doorbell footage.
‘Has he seen it?’
The 61-year-old replied from the dock ‘I am changing my plea’ before conferring with his barrister. After returning, he admitted to all six charges.
The judge said: ‘I am quite sure having seen the footage in this case that your decision to plead guilty was a sensible one.
‘My principal concern is at what point you are going to stop committing offences and what the court can do to bring the date forward.’
He was remanded in custody until October 28 ahead of sentencing.
The court also heard how De-St-Aubin, of Parsons Green Lane, had been given an 18-month community order by magistrates around a month before his spree for other offences.
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