FORT PIERCE, Fla. - A Fort Pierce UPS driver is taking some time off of work after his truck was stolen on the job by two armed men Tuesday night, he says. The driver was not injured.
33-year-old Oscar Nunez says he was dropping off a package at the First Haitian Baptist Church on 29th street when two men ordered him at gunpoint to get on the ground. They demanded his keys, and ordered Nunez to show them how to start the truck.
Reports show Nunez told them "my life is not worth this job or this truck".
Deputies then received a call from an unknown woman near 32nd Street and Avenue J saying people were taking packages from the truck.
The men ditched the truck in that neighborhood about a mile away. Fort Pierce resident, Latrell Toombs, says the truck was left in his friend's backyard.
"I was walking by and I just saw guys, they were running and the police were coming," Toombs said.
Toombs worried he may have been getting a package that was stolen. "I understand you might be hurting," Toombs said about the thieves, "But, that's not the way, like, you can get jobs and we can do better. As a black community we can do better," tombs said.
The truck was returned to the UPS shipping plant in Fort Pierce Wednesday, where investigators also worked to finalize how many packages were stolen.
A UPS spokesperson, Kristen Petrella, released the following statement :
The UPS driver is fine and was not harmed. This matter is under investigation and UPS is cooperating fully with local authorities. If customers are concerned, packages can be tracked at www.ups.com.
Petrella also addressed safety measures in place to protect drivers, stating: The safety and well-being of our drivers is a top priority at UPS. Our drivers receive extensive security awareness and vehicle security training, and safety habits are part of their daily work methods.
UPS does not publicly disclose the specific security training received by UPS employees, nor does the company describe its security procedures with public audiences. We do not disclose this information because we do not want any of our training, methods or procedures to inadvertently aid potential criminal activity.
Nunez did not want to be interviewed, but says he may look into ways to finish delivering packages before it gets dark, or discuss altering his route.
He says he's been working for UPS nearly 10 years, and after a few days off, he plans on getting back on the road next week.