PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Gresham man contracted to deliver for Amazon was found with hundreds of stolen packages that he was supposed to deliver across the Portland metropolitan-area, Portland Police said.
Heriberto Villarino-Zamora, 33, was arrested after police served a warrant to his Gresham home and found the packages as well as $4,900 in cash. The stolen packages were valued at over $16,500.
Villarino-Zamora was lodged in Multnomah County Jail on Thursday and charged with first-degree aggravated theft. During his court appearance Friday, he pleaded not guilty.
Police said they started an investigation on Dec. 6 into suspects from multiple thefts from retailers. Police said they used the online marketplace app OfferUp to identify and recover stolen items. They said they recovered over $15,000 in stolen property.
On Thursday, police served a warrant to search Villarino-Zamora’s home in the 1300 block of Northwest Wonderview Drive in Gresham.
Detectives would later come across two Mini Coopers that were full of stolen packages from Amazon to Oregon addresses. Court documents show that there were more than 20 items, mostly expensive electronics, inside the two vehicles.
Police later learned Villarino-Zamora was contracted to deliver items for a national retailer. Amazon tells KOIN 6 News that he is “contracted to deliver Amazon packages but is not an Amazon employee.”
During the search of his residence, police found a packed suitcase with a portfolio containing $4,000 in cash, Villarino-Zamora’s wallet, which had $900 cash and his passport. Police believed that he may have been trying to flee the area “on a moment’s notice.” As a result, the DA’s Office requested, and was granted, an enhanced bail of $500,000.
Between all of the recovered packages, there are likely more than 300 victims throughout Oregon, according to court documents. The DA’s Office stated in a probable cause statement that “some of these victims do not even know that a package was being sent to them by a third party.”
During a police interview, Villarino-Zamora claimed that he was making $25,000 a month by stealing the packages and re-selling them, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Villarino-Zamora’s bail remained set at $500,000 and his next court appearance is Jan. 3.KOIN 6 News reporter Brent Weisberg contributed to this report.
