MIAMI – UPS hires about 100,000 seasonal employees to support its full-time drivers as shipping ramps up ahead of the holidays, the company announced in September.
Big Brown is down at least one of those seasonal hires after a Miami man was arrested for stealing packages from the truck he was assigned to on two different occasions.
On Monday, Emmanuel Reggin, 18, was unloading a UPS truck with 5,500 boxes delivered to a Nektova fulfillment center located at 512 NE 190th St. According to its website, Nektova is a global distributor of branded consumer electronics.
During the unloading, Reggin placed three packages under several dumpsters located near the loading dock of the facility, investigators said.
The packages contained nearly $2,000 of technology equipment, including two Amazon Kindles, an iPad 7 and a Microsoft Surface Pro.
Video surveillance obtained by Miami Police Department officers showed Reggin return later Monday evening in a silver 2015 Nissan Altima to retrieve the packages.
The next morning, Reggin, the seasonal UPS employee, returned to the Nektova facility aboard a UPS truck to assist in the unloading 2,500 more boxes.
While unloading, he nabbed three boxes. One box was placed under a dumpster and two more boxes inside another dumpster.
This time, a Nektova facility manager was notified that a package was spotted under a dumpster. The manager proceeded to check the remaining dumpsters and found two additional packages placed inside by Reggin, investigators said.
The packages contained an HP laptop and two PlayStation 4 consoles.
The facility manager reviewed security footage and immediately notified MPD and a UPS representative.
Miami police and UPS investigators waited at the facility that evening until Reggin, driving his 2015 Nissan Altima, drove past the building, arrest records stated.
Upon noticing the presence of police, Reggin fled the scene before he was stopped several blocks away at 19090 NE 4th Ave.
Officers searched the vehicle, finding two kindles in the trunk of the vehicle. A search of Reggin’s listed Miami home revealed the iPad 7 and Microsoft Surface Pro, investigators said.
Reggin appeared in bond court Wednesday morning and was given a conditional pre-trial release by Judge Mindy Glazer.
"You know, it’s a shame you got arrested for grand theft. You got a chance, you are 18, and you got a chance to work, and then you go and allegedly do something pretty stupid stealing the packages,” Glazer told Reggin during his court appearance. "I don’t know if that is the path in life you want to take but I would think not. I would think you want to stay out of trouble, get a good job and have a nice life.”
Reggin faces third-degree grand theft charges that could land him in prison for five years for attempting to steal $2,800 in electronic equipment.
“UPS is working with law enforcement and the person in question is no longer employed by the company,” UPS spokesman Matthew O’Connor said in a statement.