Thousands of dollars worth of Amazon deliveries destined for homes in the Houston area were reportedly stolen from a warehouse by a third-party delivery driver. This driver, who is now wanted in Harris County for felony theft of cargo, took advantage of the opportunity to commit the crime.
Juan Pablo Carreon-Garcia, a 46-year-old individual, stands accused of engaging in the act of stealing pallets and packages during the overnight hours earlier this summer. However, he did not face any charges until late last week.
KPRC 2 does not have a booking photo of the suspect as he hasn’t been arrested yet.
He allegedly pilfered customers’ packages worth $11,618.29 from the Amazon Sort Center located at 8120 Humble Westfield Road near Bush Airport, as stated in the charging documents.
According to records, the stolen items encompass a range of products, including heartburn and gas super chews, premium clumping cat litter, face lift tape, and even a swimming pool leaf skimmer. Among the more valuable items stolen were noise-canceling headphones and a record player.
According to records, Carreon-Garcia reached the sort center at around 2:50 a.m. on June 3. He diligently scanned the pallets and packages assigned to him for delivery.
While completing his assigned route, he had to be signed in to a GPS tracking app as per Amazon’s policy, even though he worked for a third-party delivery company.
According to investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the suspect had activated the app for a portion of the planned route. This included a stop at a USPS Post Office in the Kingwood area. However, the app stopped working and the data became unavailable after the stop, when the suspect was supposed to be heading to a USPS Post Office in the 77006 zip code.
Drivers are required to activate and keep the tool on before entering an Amazon building and throughout their routes, as per the documents.
Amazon spokesperson informed KPRC 2 that the employee was suspended after it was found out that the packages were missing.
Approximately one month later, on July 3rd, investigators from the USPS and the Austin Police Department made a significant discovery. They found numerous Amazon packages at a self-storage facility in downtown Austin. This discovery came after the facility manager reported finding empty packaging in the dumpster.
According to records, investigators were able to trace approximately 40 packages, which were worth thousands of dollars, to the missing items from the Houston sort center. It was found that the storage unit where these packages were located had been rented by Carreon-Garcia.
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) declined to disclose further information on the case, citing an ongoing criminal investigation.
According to a spokesperson from Amazon, the company is providing support to law enforcement as they conduct their investigation. The spokesperson further stated that in general, if customers do not receive their items, they are typically offered replacements or refunds.