Police: Employee at UPS stole pills, annotated swimsuit issue
A man who was employed at UPS in Apple Valley is accused of tampering with a mom’s care package to her son.
Nineteen-year-old Jesse D. Johnson of Farmington was charged June 19 with theft and drug possession, both felonies, in connection with the February incident at the UPS store at 15050 Cedar Ave.
The mom contacted Apple Valley police Feb. 28 to report that the package she’d brought to the UPS store had been received by her son attending college in Iowa, but that some items were missing, and another item had been altered.
The mom had included a T-shirt, cookies, magazines and two bottles of her son’s prescription Adderall in the package. When it arrived, the 60 Adderall pills were gone, and the copy of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue she’d included had handwritten notes commenting on the female models.
Police and the UPS store manager reviewed surveillance footage from the day the package was sent.
According to the criminal complaint, the footage shows Johnson, the employee who handled the transaction with the woman, bringing the items to the store’s packaging area, writing the notes that were later found attached to the magazine, and tossing an item away from the package before sealing it.
On Feb. 29, Johnson agreed to meet with Apple Valley police and give a statement. He admitted writing the notes that were attached to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, explaining that his actions were a “teenage guy thing” and not a “good choice,” the complaint said.
Asked about the missing Adderall, Johnson stated he did not take it and requested to speak with a lawyer.
If convicted of both felony charges, Johnson faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and $30,000 in fines.
