A contract FedEx worker is accused of ditching dozens of holiday packages in the woods to avoid working late.
Latavion Lewis, from Alabama, was arrested and is facing charges of grand theft, illegal dumping, and organized scheme to defraud, the New York Post reported. His arrest comes after a post office in Bonifay, Florida, received reports of FedEx packages strewn near the roadside and in a wooded area.
The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office contacted FedEx during the investigation and ultimately found that Lewis was responsible for the delivery, the agency said in a social media post. Deputies contacted Lewis, who agreed to meet with deputies at the sheriff’s office.
“During the interview, Lewis admitted to deputies that, due to the late hour, he chose to discard the undelivered packages at several locations rather than return them to the FedEx warehouse,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Approximately 44 packages had been recovered as of December 21. The Bonifay Post Office “ensured [the packages] were delivered to their rightful owners,” according to law enforcement.
FedEx told to People Magazine that Lewis is no longer working with the company.
“This incident is completely unacceptable as the safe and secure transport of our customers’ shipments is our top priority, and we are fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation,” a FedEx spokesperson said.
“In addition to being charged with criminal offenses, the individual involved is no longer providing service for our company,” the company said.
FedEx said in November it was processing 16 million packages daily ahead of the holiday season.
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