Package Thief Has Change of Heart

A home delivery theft caught on tape had an unusual ending when the person who stole the delivery apparently had a change of heart and returned it days later.

Surveillance video shows a UPS delivery man dropping a package off at Zane Johnson's Chula Vista home on December 17.

Johnson received email confirmation and headed home to pick up the package but by the time he got there, it was nowhere to be found.

“I went out the front door, looked around and didn't see it and then that point I decided to take a look at the video,” Johnson said.

There, on the video, he watched as someone in shorts and a dark shirt walked off with the package less than 30 minutes after the UPS delivery.

On the video, a white van can be seen driving by Johnson's home then suddenly reversing direction. Soon after, it appears to be a man who walks up to Johnson’s home and then walks off with the package.

Johnson called the Chula Vista police department and also decided to show the video to his neighbor.

It’s a good thing because the same neighbor spotted the van driving down the street the next day, jumped in his own car and got the work vehicle’s license plate.

Through that information, Johnson and the Chula Vista police were able to contact the owner of the van and identify the worker who was driving it at the time.

But before the employee could be questioned by police, the package reappeared.

On December 19 around 5:30 a.m. the same surveillance camera that captured the theft caught someone wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt returning the now-opened package.

“Initially it was shock,” Johnson said. “But then it was a little frustration because he returned the evidence and we didn't catch him.”

Zane decided to edit the tale into a video complete with music and posted it on YouTube.

While he’s happy the person returned the package, he’s not sure if the culprit took other packages before being caught on camera.