Fake UPS delivery person stole packages containing Christmas gifts, SLO County mom says
It wasn’t the Grinch that stole Christmas this year, but a package thief posing as a UPS employee.
Sheryl Miles’ Christmas plans were upturned when a man dressed as a UPS employee stole packages containing gifts she’d ordered from her porch in Arroyo Grande, she told The Tribune on Monday.
Miles lives on Crown Hill Street just outside of the Village. Around 1:20 p.m. on Friday, Miles was at home taking a nap with her newborn when she heard a soft knock on her door, she said.
Expecting Amazon packages that day, she assumed it was a delivery person dropping them off and did not answer the door, deciding to bring them inside later, she said.
Miles later confirmed through security camera footage that a person in regular clothes driving a UPS truck had delivered the packages to her door, she said. Her Amazon account also listed her packages as delivered at that time.
But when she opened her door later that afternoon to take her packages inside, they were nowhere to be found.
Miles checked the footage on her security camera and saw that around 1:50 p.m., a second man wearing a UPS vest approached her door, took the packages from her doorstep and walked off with them. She did not see him get into a vehicle.
“It was a horrible experience because those were Christmas presents,” Miles said.
The packages contained gifts for her child and co-workers, Miles said. She said she ended up not attending her own work party because she didn’t want to show up empty handed without her Secret Santa gift.
Other houses in Arroyo Grande said they were hit, too
Miles may not be the only person whose holiday season was spoiled by a package thief.
When Miles posted about her experience on Nextdoor, multiple people shared in the comments section that the same thing had happened to them.
One person said her daughter’s packages were stolen on the same day.
Another, who identified themselves as living a couple houses over from Miles, said their packages — also containing Christmas gifts for their daughter — were stolen as well. They, too, filed a police report, they said.
Some others in the comments said the man could’ve been a temporary employee for UPS hired for the holidays who delivered the packages to the wrong address and returned to correct his mistake, but Miles had proof that he wasn’t, she said.
Miles said she spoke to a UPS driver on Monday who worked that route on Friday, when her packages were stolen.
After showing him her security camera footage of the two men, the driver confirmed the first man who delivered her packages worked for UPS as his runner, but said the second man was not a UPS employee.
Miles also reported the theft to the Arroyo Grande Police Department.
Officer Reggie Bio told The Tribune on Monday that the department was working to match Miles’ report with other reported incidents that involved a different person stealing packages. Bio did not confirm if the other homes were in Arroyo Grande.
It appeared that more than one person was following a UPS driver and stealing packages at homes not long after they were delivered, Bio said.
The agency sent out a news release Tuesday morning identifying a package theft on the 400 block of Crown Hill Street, where Miles lives.
In the release, police described the suspect as a Hispanic male adult wearing a green shirt, a UPS vest, black shorts and Adidas brand shoes.
The same person may also be responsible for a similar theft in Arroyo Grande on the 500 block of East Branch Street, the release said. There have been other reports of similar incidents across the county, but it is currently unclear if they are related, the release said.
The situation was under ongoing investigation. Anyone with information regarding these incidents is encouraged to contact the Arroyo Grande Police Department at 805-473-5110.
This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 2:20 PM.
