MIPD stamps out attempted mail theft

Published 10:28 am Tuesday, March 31, 2015

On March 28, 2015 at approximately 5:40 a.m, the Mercer Island Police Patrol Units were dispatched to the 7600 block of West Mercer Way for a reported single car collision. Upon arrival, officers found the vehicle ‘high centered’ on the edge of the road with its front end hanging over the ledge of a steep drop off and the rear tires well off of the ground. There were no injuries seen or reported.

As the officers were interviewing the driver and passenger about what occurred, they observed a large amount of mail from many different addresses strewn throughout the interior of the vehicle. The driver later confessed that she and her passenger had been stealing mail from mailboxes on Mercer Island, and they had just taken some from a nearby mailbox when she drove off the road.

The passenger gave a false name and was later discovered to have a warrant for her arrest for theft related charges. Both subjects were booked into King County Jail for investigation of mail theft and possessing stolen property.

The vehicle was impounded and on March 30, detectives served a search warrant on the vehicle. There were about 1,000 pieces of stolen mail inside the car from multiple cities within King County, as well as what appears to be stolen credit/debit cards.

Mercer Island Police Detectives will be working closely with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to identify all of the victims in this case.