A dispute over the delivery of a FedEx package escalated into a home invasion, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Jeffrey Emilio Perez Geronimo, 28, was booked into the Orange County Jail Wednesday after he was arrested on suspicion of home invasion robbery.
The incident in question happened in August, when investigators said a package ended up at the home of a person was not the intended recipient.
The package had no name on it, just a company name, according to a criminal complaint for Perez Geronimo.
The alleged victim in this case searched the company’s name online, only to find that the company was permanently closed, according to the complaint.
“The victim decided to wait until tomorrow and take the package back to FedEx,” the complaint stated, referring to the victim’s thinking on August 12.
The complaint said Perez Geronimo went to the home and said that it was his package, but the victim responded by saying they preferred to take the package to FedEx since it had no name.
“At that point, the suspect put his phone in the victim’s face to show a tracking number,” according to the complaint. ”The suspect also took out an ID and began to wave it in the victim’s face.”
Perez Geronimo began to get agitated, the complaint said, and the victim told him to “get back.”
“That is when the suspect forcefully pushed open the victim’s front door, entered into the residence, pushed the victim against the wall, all while taking the package out of the victim’s hand,” the complaint stated.
Before leaving, deputies said, Perez Geronimo hit the victim twice in the chest. While running away, he took whatever was inside the package and left the rest in a neighbor’s yard.
Deputies said that after they responded to the incident, they found the package and discovered an AT&T invoice inside, bearing the name “Jeffrey Perez,” along with phone numbers.
The complaint said that 10 days later, the victim reported that Perez Geronimo had returned and was talking to a UPS driver at the end of the victim’s driveway.
Perez Geronimo was no longer at the house, though, by the time deputies arrived there.
The victim did manage to take a picture of Perez Geronimo, the complaint said. Investigators were able to use that picture and run it through facial recognition software, leading to an arrest Wednesday.
During an interview with investigators, Perez Geronimo was shown video surveillance footage from a neighbor’s house apparently depicting the August 12 incident.
“Jeffrey stated, ‘Yeah I remember that I was grabbing my package not even gonna lie here, sir,’” the complaint stated.
“I can tell you what happened there,” Perez Geronimo allegedly told investigators. The interview, however, ended shortly thereafter when Perez Geronimo invoked his Miranda Rights.
In addition to the home invasion robbery charge, Perez Geronimo is facing charges of unauthorized possession of an identification card, possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis, and violation of probation.