ST. GEORGE — A local man was arrested Tuesday for felony mail theft after police received a report that the suspect was seen allegedly opening parcels and then throwing them near a dumpster off of South Dixie Drive in St. George.
The investigation into the theft was set in motion when St. George Police officers were dispatched to the Senior Center on Dixie Drive on a burglary call. They arrived to speak to the reporting party who told officers that a Hispanic man was seen opening packages from an unmarked van parked near the facility, and then they saw him throwing the opened parcels in the trash, according to charging documents filed with the court.
Investigators found nine separate packages that were opened and placed near the dumpster.
Through the course of the investigation, officers also learned that several people told police they were expecting packages they had not yet received. Officers delivered four of the packages while the remaining five found near the dumpster earlier were placed into evidence.
Officers also determined that all of the opened packages were sent by Ontrac, and the tracking numbers and the contents of each package were photographed and collected as evidence.
The following day, officers were able to obtain the address of the courier company from the post office for follow up and responded to the company on Sandhill Drive to see if they could identify the driver assigned to deliver the parcels that were found damaged and discarded.
The company was able to track the packages back to the driver who, as it turned out, was hired as a third-party contractor. When officers made contact with the contractor, they ran the tracking numbers and were told that one of the company’s female drivers was assigned to deliver the packages. Investigators also learned from the company that the employee in question was out of town when the parcels were delivered.
Officers were able to track down a family member of the employee, and after multiple conversations, they discovered that the employee’s spouse, 26-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Chavez, was the one allegedly responsible for taking the parcels and then throwing them away after he opened them.
The suspect returned to the business and was met by the officers. When asked about the parcels, Chavez told police “he had thrown away the packages because he believed them to be damaged,” the officer noted in the report.
The suspect went on to say he did not tell anyone about discarding the packages. Using another employee’s identification, he marked the packages as “delivered” after he threw them in the dumpster.
Chavez was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on one third-degree felony count of theft of mail. He remains in custody on $5,000 bail.
Christmas, parcels and theft
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, it is expected that Americans will spend more than $729 billion this year, the National Retail Federation says. Moreover, many households are expected to depend on digital shopping to make a majority of those holiday purchases, just as they have for much of their everyday spending this year.
The rise in online shopping has also resulted in a growing problem across the country, which is parcel theft. And according to one study by C and R Research, 36% of the 2,000 Americans surveyed reported having a package stolen at least once within the last year.
And while the arrest that took place Tuesday involved packages that were allegedly taken by a driver, there are things consumers can do to protect themselves.
Security experts have found that most thieves casually approach a home with no disguise and do not appear dissuaded by cameras, fences, or signs that a resident was at home.
To address the risk, consumers can adjust residential delivery hours to coincide when they are at home, or arrange to be notified when a package is delivered. Watchful neighbors, actively monitored surveillance, lockboxes and alarms that activate if packages are removed may also be helpful.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.