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Cancer patient's medication stolen, Vegas police searching for package thief

Posted at 6:04 PM, Feb 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-12 21:35:34-05

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas police are asking the public's assistance in locating a package thief in the northwest part of town.

Detectives are searching for a man who is suspected of stealing a resident's personal property on Feb. 7.

RELATED: Mother says video shows thief stealing son's cancer medication off porch

Officers were initially called to a home in the 1700 block of Mill Canyon Drive, near Pueblo Vista and Vegas Drives, with reports of stolen packages.

Police said the victim received a notification about a package delivery and then viewed a man stealing two packages from the doorstep through a doorbell camera.

The homeowner told 13 Action News that the package contained her child's chemotherapy medicine.

As Stacy Shavinsky's 14-year-old son Gage has a rare form of cancer called systemic mastocytosis, and she says insurance doesn't cover the total cost of $40,000 a month because it’s not typically given to someone his age.

"I had to do a lot of begging and pleading, and I had to apply for financial assistance,” Shavinsky said. “We went to salt lake city and Los Angeles to get second opinions so we have done a lot of work to make sure this medication would be beneficial for him."

A 'porch pirate' sighting has unfortunately become very familiar to Las Vegas residents. However, this one is particularly sinister to Shavinsky.

“It just happened that this time it wasn't a shirt or pair of shoes,” Shavinsky said. “It happened to be something that we desperately needed.”

RELATED: Las Vegas horse owner deterring 'porch pirates' with manure

Police described the suspect as a white man between 20 to 30 years old and around 6-feet tall with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a plaid shirt with a red baseball cap.

Anyone with further information on this incident or the identity and location of the suspect were urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Also, If you would like to help the family, there is a GoFundMe account here.