Video appears to show UPS driver open package, steal Apple Watch in front of South LA home

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A UPS delivery driver is out of a job after surveillance video appears to show him stealing a pricey Apple Watch instead of dropping off the package at a South Los Angeles home.

Eliu Abraham Chavez received a notification that his package was delivered. It wasn't until he reviewed home security videos from Monday afternoon that he realized why his watch never arrived.

Footage shows the UPS driver about to drop off a bag at Chavez's front door, but he never steps foot into the yard. The employee walks up the sidewalk before some bushes block the camera's view.

But once he reemerges on the other side of the bushes, he appears to rip open the bag and stuffs the Apple Watch in his pocket. He then throws the bag in a nearby recycling bin and runs back to the UPS truck.

Chavez couldn't believe it, so he checked his neighbor's garbage.

"That's when I opened it and saw the bag," Chavez told Eyewitness News.

The UPS employee wasn't alone in the truck and appears to check a few times to see if his co-worker is looking as he sneaks off to steal the Apple Watch. What he didn't realize was Chavez capturing the whole thing on video from multiple angles.

"I got frustrated. I got really upset to see what he had done," Chavez said.

Chavez often worries about strangers stealing packages from his porch, but never considered those working for a delivery company being the culprit.

"If it happened to me, maybe it happened to a lot more people," Chavez said. "He may be stealing from other people around the area."

UPS told Eyewitness News that the employee no longer works for the company and that Monday's incident does not reflect their values.

The Apple Watch was a gift for Chavez's wife and he's now getting a replacement from the store he bought it from. This time, he's not taking any chances and will be picking it up.