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Deputies Investigate Package Heist As Potentially 'More Than A Crime Of Opportunity'

JACKSON (CBS13) — The investigation into a massive Amazon package heist in Amador County is raising enough red flags for deputies to consider the incident suspicious.

The hundreds of people who lost packages want to know how something so careless could happen.

"Are they going to fix the problem? And who is responsible. Who did something like that?" asked Jessica Walling, who said she lost her entire Christmas in this theft. 

Now deputies are questioning the actions of Amazon's carrier service.

"It raises a lot of red flags, it's very suspicious in nature," said Gary Redman, the Amador County Undersheriff.

Deputies said on Dec. 1st, the carrier service dumped the packages at the closed Pioneer Post Office and 297 packers were later taken. Exactly one week earlier, the carrier service made a large delivery at a similar time and also while the post office was closed. Luckily a postal worker was there that time to secure the delivery. That's when the carrier service was told the deliveries needed to go to the Jackson Office on Sundays.

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"It is suspicious to make a mistake, be told, and then not correct it and do the same delivery," Redman said.

The Pioneer Post Office has no cameras and there were no witnesses to the theft. The Amador County Sheriff's Office said Amazon is not cooperating.

Amazon released statement saying, "this does not reflect the high standards we have for our contracted carriers. We are working with customers to make this right."

In the meantime, investigators want to know how the thief got away with so much in so little time.

"So was it something they just discovered? I don't think four pallets is going to fit in the back of a pickup...did they have time to go back and get a trailer?" Redman said

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