Report from ABC13 helps reopen closed case of $29K stolen package
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A law enforcement investigation has been reopened thanks to an ABC13 story.
Earlier this week, ABC13 reported on a suspect who police said intercepted packages of silver and gold coins in our area worth thousands.
RELATED: Only on 13: Houston man's thousands in silver coins stolen, HPD says suspect linked to other thefts
Since then, viewers reached out to Eyewitness News about similar thefts they experienced.
One victim told ABC13 that after watching our story on Tuesday, he immediately contacted law enforcement. The victim asked to remain anonymous for privacy concerns.
He said he ordered several gold plates worth more than $29,000.
"The biggest purchase I've ever made outside of a car," the victim said.
He told ABC13 he ordered them in July but never received his package, despite receiving a form showing proof of delivery from FedEx. He said the signature on there wasn't his.
He said he contacted the company he bought the gold from, FedEx, and Harris County Constable Precinct 4.
"They took the report," the man said. "Pretty much it was immediately closed."
The incident report said the case was closed after eight days.
"I saw ABC13 reporting on a similar issue," he said. "After that incident, I contacted them again and provided that updated information in the report on ABC13.com."
On Tuesday, ABC13 reported a similar situation involving a package allegedly stolen that contained more than $7,000 worth of silver coins.
The suspect in that case was 28-year-old Artur Kryvytskyi. He's accused of stopping a FedEx driver along his route, asking about a package headed to an address in Spring Branch, allegedly then showing the driver a fake ID that matched the name on the package, and walking away with it.
Investigators said Kryvytskyi is connected to similar theft investigations in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.
There's no indication of who the suspect is in this viewer's case.
However, Precinct 4 said the case was reopened after he told law enforcement about our reporting.
Precinct 4 told ABC13 they're currently working with other law enforcement agencies as they investigate this again.
They said they initially closed the case because there were no leads or follow-ups at the time.
In both cases ABC13 reported on, the victims said they ordered from a company called APMEX.
The company said, "There is no evidence of unauthorized access to customer data in APMEX systems, and no indication that any APMEX system was the source of the information used in these incidents."
They said delivery information can be exposed at many points along the process.
"I'm not expecting to find the package or find the gold," the victim said. "I just want to make sure that the person who intercepted the package is held accountable."
