Alabama man admitted to dumping hundreds of FedEx packages in ravine, officials say

Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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Law enforcement officials in Alabama say a former contract driver for FedEx admitted to dumping hundreds of packages in a ravine last month, and the man is expected to be arrested on Friday.

The suspect is Deandre Rayshaun Charleston, a 22-year-old resident of Adamsville, Alabama, Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon confirmed in a press conference. Moon said the man admitted to dumping packages in five separate incidents between Nov. 17-24.

Moon told reporters that Charleston was not in custody as of Friday afternoon because he was working “delivering packages for another company.” However, the man has been cooperated with law enforcement, according to the sheriff, and officials hoped to have him in custody by the end of the day on Friday.

Moon said the sheriff's office has five warrants for Charleston for cargo theft, a class D felony. He told reporters that 247 packages valued at approximately $25,000 were unidentifiable or could not be scanned to determine a victim.

But approximately 153 packages, worth about $15,000. were accounted for and connected with a victim.

Moon added that Charleston “appeared that he was very sorrowful for what he had done and just admitted that he was having some hard times in his life and just made poor choices,” adding that 22-year old told law enforcement officials he recently experienced a death in his family.

FedEx kerfuffle: Investigation continues into hundreds of packages dumped in Alabama ravine

The sheriff’s office confirmed late last month that deputies guarded the packages that were found near the small town of Hayden in north-central Alabama. FedEx workers later arrived to pick up the packages.

After the packages were discovered, FedEx confirmed it would deliver the recovered packages and seek resolutions for the damaged shipments.

“The security of our customers’ shipments is a top priority and we are committed to treating our customers’ packages with the utmost care,″ FedEx said in a statement at the time.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama man allegedly dumped FedEx packages in ravine