JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man who is accused of posing as an Amazon delivery driver in a home invasion robbery that left a Jacksonville Beach neighborhood shaken in late January has been arrested, according to police.
The Jacksonville Beach Police Department announced Wednesday that a joint investigation with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives identified Christian Javier Vazquez Ortiz as the man spotted on home surveillance dressed as an Amazon driver.
The homeowners were out of town but a family friend was pet sitting, the owner of the home told News4JAX.
“You kind of trust that that is a reliable source to come to your house and then the guy comes in,” the homeowner said, asking for his identity and address to be kept private. “He gained her trust and threatened her life. It’s an awful thing.”
Police said Vazquez Ortiz approached that home on 1st Street South around 7 p.m. Jan. 27 wearing a blue and gray jacket with an Amazon logo and carrying a package. An accomplice was with him.
Vazquez Ortiz told the woman who answered the door she needed to sign for the package, but when she went to grab a pen, Vazquez Ortiz pulled out a gun and forced his way inside, police said.
Police said Vazquez Ortiz ordered the woman to get into a closet, but the woman “fiercely fought him” and was able to escape through the living room into the backyard.
“It feels really painful for us and for her it’s probably 100 times worse,” the homeowner said. “It’s tough for her. Physically and emotionally.”
Vazquez Ortiz and the accomplice then fled the area, police said. The accomplice has not yet been identified.
After he was identified as the suspect, Vazquez Ortiz was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of home invasion robbery, four counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm by a felon, dealing in stolen property, and false verification of ownership to a pawn shop. He is being held in the Duval County Jail on a $3 million bond.
An investigator said the man was believed to be responsible for other similar home invasion robberies in the Jacksonville area.
At the time, people living in the Jacksonville Beach neighborhood said they were shaken by the encounter. One woman told News4JAX the woman inside the home was house-sitting for the homeowner when the men showed up and that she and her husband called 911 when they found the woman outside screaming for help.
“Jax Beach Police and ATF they were fantastic,” the homeowner said. “I know they were very involved because they were in communication with us all the time. I just can’t be any more complimentary of the work that they did and I’m just thankful that they were on it.”
He said he hopes the police arrest the accomplice soon.