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Theft of a gold coin from a package at the UPS store in Wheaton leads to the arrest of an employee, according to police


Theft of a gold coin from a package at the UPS store in Wheaton leads to the arrest of an employee, according to police

A 26-year-old Hyattsville woman was accused of stealing the contents of packages while working for UPS and then selling them after an investigation into stolen gold coins, according to Montgomery County police.

Adela Beatriz Orellana faces multiple charges for stealing items from packages she accepted while working as a UPS employee at stores in Wheaton and Rockville, and for selling the stolen contents to local pawn shops, police said in a news release Thursday.

According to court documents, Orellana is represented by Dyan Owens of the Maryland Public Defender’s Office. The public defender’s office could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Investigators believe there may be other victims who sent packages through UPS stores in Rockville and Wheaton and are asking them to come forward, the press release said.

According to police, a man reported to police on Nov. 21 that he had shipped five gold coins through the UPS store at 11160 Viers Mills Road in Wheaton and that only two gold coins remained when the package arrived at its destination.

After an investigation, investigators “discovered” Orellana as a suspect, the release said. They later also discovered that Orellana had allegedly stolen items from other packages and charged her with committing those thefts as well, police said.

Investigators applied for an arrest warrant on June 20 and Orellana turned herself in on June 26. She was taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville, where she was released after posting bail, the news release said.

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