An Amazon delivery driver turned himself in after allegedly snatching a pricey French Bulldog that was following his vehicle down a street in Spring Hill.
According to Michael Terry, deputy public information officer (PIO) for the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), on Dec. 22, a Spring Hill woman reported that her one-year-old French bulldog Kali valued at $4,000, had been stolen near her residence on Cooper Hill Drive.
At the scene, she told deputies that around 9:15 a.m., she had let Kali outside and a short time later, noticed that the animal had escaped from the home’s fenced-in backyard.
Shortly thereafter, a neighbor told the owner that he had seen Kali walk up to a Hispanic man in his 20s wearing an Amazon uniform and driving an older model white Chevrolet Cruze sedan. The neighbor said that the man had just delivered a parcel to an address on Cooper Hill Drive.
After interacting with the dog, the man got back into his car and drove off with the dog following behind, the neighbor said.
Another neighbor who was driving through the area saw the incident and told the dog’s owner that she saw the man stop his car on Larkenheath Drive, where he picked up the dog, put it in the back seat and drove off.
About that time, Kali’s owner came outside looking for her.
That woman shared her neighbors’ information with an Amazon representative, who advised her to report the incident to the HCSO.
Terry said that on Jan. 16, HCSO detectives identified the driver as 34-year-old Reinier Revilla.
When HCSO detectives interviewed Revilla about the dog at his home in Tampa, he admitted to taking the dog and that he still had her.
Kali was subsequently found at a residence nearby and returned to her owner later that day.
The following day, detectives obtained a warrant for Revilla’s arrest on a charge of Grand Theft.
When they phoned him to tell him about the warrant, Revilla promised to turn himself in at the Hernando County Jail.
He did that on Jan. 19 and was released after posting a $5,000 bond.
