Two Amazon employees are responsible for thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise.
On Oct. 11, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Benjamin Smith, a loss and prevention employee working for Amazon. Smith told deputies he had witnessed two employees stealing from the business, according to the incident report.
While reviewing security footage with Smith, deputies saw Nathaniel Jones Jr., 33, and Malik Stone, 21, taking items out of their packaging and discarding the packages in the trash. Jones and Stone then proceeded to hide the merchandise on their bodies before leaving the business.
The sheriff’s office report goes on to say that between Sept. 25 and Oct. 10, Jones and Stone were able to steal a combined total of approximately $22,013 in Amazon merchandise.
Upon getting caught, Smith told deputies that both Jones and Stone admitted to taking the stolen goods, the report said.
Jones is responsible for $14,767 in stolen goods, including 10 Apple Air Pods, six Apple watches, five Apple iPads, two Nintendo Switches, two Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, one PlayStation5 controller, two Google tablets, one Microsoft Surface tablet, two PlayStation4 controllers, one Oculus Quest VR headset, two Nintendo Switch games, one Samsung S10 cell phone and one pair of Skullcandy headphones.
Stone was able to steal five Apple Air Pods, two Apple watches, four Apple iPads, two Nintendo Switches, one Nintendo Switch game, and one pair of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, totaling $7,246.
Jones and Stone were transported to Columbia County Detention Center without further incident and charged with felony theft by taking.
Anna Virella is the newsroom coordinator with The Augusta Press. Reach her at anna@theaugustapress.com.
