UPS driver steals expensive gift from man’s home

In Los Angeles, California, an unidentified United Parcel Service (UPS) driver was caught on surveillance camera stealing a package containing an Apple Watch intended as a gift for Eliu Abraham Chavez's wife. The incident occurred after Chavez received a notification about his package's arrival but did not find it at his home. The video footage revealed the driver glancing over his shoulder as he approached the front gate, hesitating before proceeding behind bushes. He then emerged next to a neighbor's trashcan, where he opened the package discreetly and pocketed the expensive item. The driver discarded the remaining packaging in the trash before quickly leaving the scene. Upon reviewing his security footage, Chavez discovered the theft and subsequently checked his neighbor's trashcan, where he found the empty box discarded by the driver. The stolen item, an Apple Watch, retails between $250 and $900, depending on the model. Fortunately for Chavez, the store where he purchased the gift agreed to replace it, and he later chose to pick up the new item directly from the store to avoid further issues with delivery. This incident comes amid a broader discussion about crime rates and theft in Los Angeles; reports indicate that property crimes have seen a decrease of 12.2 percent in November compared to the previous month. At the same time, person crimes fell by 8.5 percent, as per the Los Angeles Police Department's statistics. This change in crime rates follows recent political decisions by Californian voters, who have reacted against perceived soft-on-crime policies. Voters expressed their discontent with Proposition 47, a law that reduced certain non-violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. In a landmark decision earlier in the year, residents from all 58 California counties voted to roll back portions of this 2014 law, highlighting a shift in public sentiment regarding crime and safety. The successful vote reflected a growing consensus among residents that such policies were ineffective, with specific attribution of this failure to local politicians previously supportive of the measures.