Stealing mail could land 'Grinches' in federal prison, US attorney warns


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SALT LAKE CITY — It's a scenario that residents across the state are warned about each Christmas: Don't become a victim whose packages are stolen off the front porch.

On Friday, U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber gathered with other federal and local authorities to remind the so-called "porch pirates" that stealing packages off of a porch or mail from a mailbox is a federal offense.

"We will hold people accountable in federal court, and they may face federal jail time,” he said.

With the growing popularity of online Christmas shopping, the incidents of parcel theft are steadily rising each year.

Huber highlighted several cases that occurred in 2016, including:

  • Michael Rucker, 25, and Britney Knight, 27, both of Sandy, were arrested on Dec. 16 after allegedly stealing parcels off of porches in Cottonwood Heights, including one that contained prescription medication. The couple was arrested following a chase with police that ended when an officer performed a PIT maneuver on their vehicle. They were each indicted in federal court with mail theft, in addition to being charged with fleeing from police in state court.
  • Darren John Jensen, 34, of Midvale, was arrested Dec. 21. Police say he rode his skateboard in the area of 8000 South and 150 East and opened about 20 mailboxes, putting whatever mail he found into a duffel bag. He was indicted on 13 counts of mail theft and one count of meth possession on Jan. 11.
  • Misty Angell, 34, of Magna, was indicted Dec. 22 with stealing mail from several mailboxes in the Magna area.
  • Misti Louise Stewart, 32, of Ogden, was indicted Jan. 11 with three counts of mail theft after allegedly following a delivery person and stealing parcels off several porches in Ogden.

When discussing mail thefts on Friday, Huber used the analogy of the story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”

"There are people out there in society, in real world society, who are Grinches,” he said. "There are people, trained, skilled professionals, who will find these Grinches who come to steal the packages off of our front porches, and we will hold them accountable."

Huber, who said Friday that "a mark of a civilized society is the integrity of its postal service," announced a new task force had been created to deal exclusively with the federal prosecution of mail theft. Two attorneys from the U.S. Postal Service have been cross-deputized as deputy U.S. attorneys to handle nothing but mail theft cases, he said.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said that while using the analogy of the Grinch may make people snicker, "The reality is, these individuals aren’t just stealing a Christmas."

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Even when it's not Christmastime, mail with important identification documents are being stolen out of mailboxes year-round.

"If you ever have your identity stolen, you will find it far from funny,” he said. "It sure as heck should be a federal offense, and it should be a very, very serious one at that because the repercussions of that devastate lives. I’m not talking about teddy bears taken. We’re talking about people’s lifetimes of accrued wealth and goods that are stolen in a heartbeat."

Jared Bingham, a supervisor with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said mail theft is nothing new. And in the overall picture, only a small percentage of delivered mail is stolen.

But he encouraged residents to always take precautions, such as not leaving mail in a box overnight or having parcels delivered to a work address or a neighbor's house if the resident knows they won't be home.

Furthermore, he said the public's eyes and ears are the greatest tools in helping to combat mail theft.

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Pat Reavy

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