Surveillance video shows pizza delivery driver walk off with puppy from customers' home

WLS logo
Monday, February 1, 2021
Pizza delivery driver arrested for stealing puppy
While delivering the pizza, the driver reportedly grabbed the poodle and hid her in his delivery bag.

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. -- A man reportedly stole a puppy while delivering a pizza to a family in Florida.

"It was terrible. I mean, it was just terrible," the dog's owner Rick Block told News4Jax.

Block said his wife used Grubhub to order a pizza from one of their favorite local restaurants. A little while later, they had a pizza but did not have their 10-month-old teacup poodle named Lexi.

Local police said the delivery driver, Arlinson Chilito, grabbed the poodle and hid her in his delivery bag.

Surveillance video showed Chilito walking into an elevator with the dog before leaving the building.

Police quickly tracked down Chilito, arresting him at his home and returning Lexi to Block and his wife.

Grubhub said Chilito was not one of the company's drivers. Instead, Grubhub believes Chilito was using another driver's account without the company's permission or knowledge.

"We are shocked and appalled by this behavior, and there is absolutely no tolerance for it on Grubhub," the company said in a statement. The company also permanently banned the driver whose account Chilito used.

Block said he hopes everybody uses his family's experience as a word of caution.

"This is not about us. It's not even about Lexi, God bless her. Again, this is about people's safety and their property and ... people we are relying on right now every single day. We used to get five meals a week from Grubhub because we stay hunkered down," Block said.