Thieves steal delivery van loaded with Amazon packages, police say

As a delivery driver was making his rounds in Redondo Beach during the busy holiday season, two people stole his van filled with parcels, police said.

But officers were able to stop the pair a short while later and retrieve the 230 packages worth $10,000, the Redondo Beach Police Department said. Richard Aleman, 24, and Marianna Archundia, 23, both of Hawthorne, were charged with grand theft auto and grand theft Monday.

Prosecutors say the pair stole the van from in front of a home in the 2000 block of Graham Avenue. Police found it five miles away in a residential area of Hawthorne. The two were moving boxes marked with Amazon shipping tape from the van into a nearby property, authorities said.

Aleman also was charged with the illegal use of a personal access card and identity theft, police said.

Officials took the incident as an opportunity to remind residents to be aware of package thieves and porch pirates during the holidays.

“The Redondo Beach Police Department would like to remind citizens to be vigilant during the holiday season for thefts of packages and to take steps to minimize being a victim of property theft,” police said in a news release.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra