Postal carrier stole credit cards and gift cards from 1,500 pieces of mail in CA, feds say
A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier was sentenced after being accused of stealing more than 1,500 pieces of mail from nearly 900 California customers, according to federal prosecutors.
The 44-year-old woman was sentenced to five years probation and 200 hours of community serviceafter officials say she took mail from customers on her Santee delivery route, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in an Aug. 11 news release.
An attorney for the former postal worker did immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment on Aug. 14.
An off-duty San Diego police detective spotted a woman stealing from his apartment complex’s communal mailbox on November 21, according to prosecutors.
Though the woman fled in a White Nissan, the detective noted the car’s license plate and identified her using a records search, according to a criminal complaint filed in January.
After learning the woman was a USPS employee, the complaint says the detective forwarded the information to the Santee Post Office Postmaster.
A little more than a week prior to the detective spotting the woman, who had worked for the Postal Service for eight years, she had been placed on administrative leave because of issues with her attendance, the complaint says.
When investigators went to the woman’s home to speak with her on Dec. 8, there was no answer, the complaint says.
However, investigators noticed a barbecue grill “filled with burnt paper documents” on the porch outside the front door, the complaint says. One was a piece of mail addressed to a Santee address, when the woman herself lived in El Cajon a few miles away.
Investigators got a warrant and searched the woman’s home on Dec. 21, finding hundreds of pieces of mail “that had all been stolen from nearly 900 customers along her mail delivery route in Santee,” prosecutors said. The mail included gift cards, credit cards and Christmas presents.
While searching the home, investigators also found mail keys hidden in a flower pot inside the woman’s bedroom, the complaint says.
In a plea agreement, the woman admitted to keeping the keys after being placed on administrative leave and using them to “continue to steal mail even after she was terminated,” prosecutors said.
The woman was charged in January with one count of keys or locks stolen and two counts of mail theft, according to prosecutors. Such charges could have led to a prison sentence.
The woman pleaded guilty to the three counts three months later, a plea agreement shows.
During sentencing, the judge said, “Stealing mail is not the way to go. You will be caught, and you will be prosecuted.”
Santee is about 20 miles northeast of San Diego.
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Postal carrier stole credit cards and gift cards from 1,500 pieces of mail in CA, feds say."
