NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah -- A delivery driver for Amazon is facing five counts of theft after homeowners in North Salt Lake said they caught him stealing packages.
Last week, a homeowner said he noticed a delivery driver acting suspiciously.
“He was kind of hanging his head out the window, presumably looking for addresses,” the homeowner, who did not want to be identified, said.
The homeowner then said the driver got out of an unmarked van with a box, went up to his house and swapped it for a package that was already on his porch.
“My first thought was he got the wrong door,” the homeowner said.
But then he realized the package left on the doorstep wasn't his.
“I saw a text from my wife saying, 'hey, there's an expensive amazon delivery. Please pick it up,' and then I realized what happened,” the homeowner said.
He called the police, who said calls began to come flooding in about the same driver. Police said they finally found him, along with the stolen packages that had been opened.
“He'd come up with some sort of a scheme to make it look like the packages were being delivered, and then immediately taking them back and keeping them for himself,” said Sgt. Mitch Gwilliam with the North Salt Lake Police Department.
According to court documents, Robert Powell admitted to stealing packages in North Salt Lake and in Weber County.
“[He was] feeling like the Grinch, and he was taking packages from those he felt didn't deserve them and keeping them for himself,” Gwilliam said.
Powell is now facing five counts of theft, delivering justice for this North Salt Lake neighborhood.
“That same night a cop came and delivered my stolen package back and that was very nice,” the homeowner said.
Amazon released this statement to FOX13:
"This kind of behavior is unacceptable and does not reflect the high standards we have for delivery service partners. This individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages, and we are working with law enforcement as they investigate."
