CAUGHT ON CAM: Food delivery driver steals family’s puppy after dropping off pizza, police say | News Headlines
(Meredith) – A food delivery driver was charged with grand theft after allegedly stealing a family’s puppy on his delivery route.
The act was caught on camera at the condo in Jacksonville, Florida.
On Saturday, Kimberly Block ordered a pizza through Grubhub. Police said after dropping off the pizza, delivery driver Arlinson Chilito, 22, stole the family’s 10-month-old teacup poodle named Lexi.
When Chilito arrived with the food at the family’s condo, Lexi went out the door. Police said Chilito then grabbed the dog, and surveillance video from the condo’s elevator shows Chilito hiding the puppy in a delivery bag.
Within minutes, police and people across the community were looking for Lexi. She was found hours later at Chilito’s home.
Chilito was booked into jail Sunday night and charged with grand theft.
In a statement to WJXT, Grubhub confirms Chilito is not one of its drivers, saying in part, “[Chilito] was using another contracted driver’s account without Grubhub’s permission or knowledge, which is a fraudulent misuse of our platform. We banned the driver permanently from our platform and support efforts to prosecute both individuals to the full extent of the law.”
When Lexi went missing, the family offered a $5,000 reward. They say they plan to donate the money to the Jacksonville Beach Police as a way to say thank you for bringing Lexi home.
Lexi is safely back with her family, happy to be home.
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