Sacramento Woman Says Thief Took Hopes And Dreams With Her Cap And Gown

SOUTH SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — After years of work to get her MBA, Melissa Watts was excited to get her cap and gown in the mail.

But that joy was dashed when a man stole the package with her graduation garb right off her front porch.

"I was in shock. I was made, I yelled," she said. "That package means my career, my life, my education. A new start to a lot of things."

When her cap and gown didn't arrive, she got suspicious. She checked the footage from her security cameras outside her South Sacramento home.

The video shows the postal worker dropping it off. Eight minutes later, a green van circles her home a few times before the thief finally pulls up, gets out, grabs the package, runs off and drives away.

"It seems like he might have been following the postal guy. The way he was driving and just the time delay, and he's checking to see if there are any other packages on his route, seeing if anybody is home."

The cap, gown and tassels cost her $50. But what was stolen from Melissa is worth much more than money.

"I wanted to cry, but you can't let him get to you, you can't," she said. "You just have to absorb everything and keep moving on."

Melissa hasn't decided if she's going to buy another cap and gown, but from now own, she says she'll have all of her important packages delivered to her husband's work.