Authorities say that an Amazon delivery driver stole hundreds of dollars worth of gifts just weeks before Christmas.
Ozcan Rodriguez Okur, 22, was arrested on Wednesday and faces a charge of third-degree grand theft, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said that the total value of what he stole was $890.
Rodriguez Okur allegedly took $250 worth of gift cards as part of the pre-holiday haul and loaded them onto his Amazon account. Other items lifted included Apple AirPods, a Ring camera, and a PlayStation game.
Deputies said that Rodriquez Okur would mark the stolen goods as “missing” during his delivery trips and that he admitted to the thefts.
“We tell people all the time how to protect themselves from porch pirates, but it’s especially upsetting when the person responsible for delivering the package to your doorstep takes advantage of your trust and the trust of their company,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.
“We are thankful that all of the victims in this case were reimbursed by Amazon and that our deputies were able to take Rodriguez off of the streets before he could pull another Grinch-like move and steal from anyone else on Christmas,” he added.
Amazon spokesman Timothy Carter said that the thefts do not “reflect the high standards we have for our delivery service partners.
“This individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages, and we have reached out to the customers to make this right,” he said.
The arrest comes the same week as two Christmas “Grinches” in California allegedly stole a large haul of presents from a foster family agency.
