The Oakley Police Department announced the arrest of three suspects in connection with mail theft that targeted 34 households in the City of Oakley and City of Antioch.
Here is the release from Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard.
At 3:21 am Monday, a resident called the Oakley Police Department to report seeing a suspicious black sedan driving slowly through the 5000 block of Kelsey Lane in the city of Oakley.
It appeared to this resident as if the occupants of the black sedan were stealing mail from the mailboxes in the area. Oakley Police Officers R. Arcaina, T. Burton, Z. Fielding and R. Hernandez immediately responded to the area and they saw a vehicle matching the description in the general area.
A traffic stop of the vehicle was made and three occupants were discovered inside of it. As our officers investigated this incident it was determined the rear passenger was on probation for theft related offenses. The rear passenger was asked to step out of the vehicle so a probation compliance check could be conducted.
As the rear passenger stepped out of the vehicle our officers saw, in plain sight, many poorly hidden mail documents on the floorboard of the rear passenger compartment. Sergeant D. Collier arrived to supervise this field investigation and all passengers were detained.
A probable cause search was made of the vehicle and our officers were able to identify mail from 34 separate households in the Oakley and Antioch area, none of the addresses on the mail matched the stated residences of the three detained suspects. Some of the mail came from the Kelsey Lane area, which fortified the suspicions of the resident who initially called us.
The three suspects were arrested for multiple crimes and they were all booked into the main jail in Martinez. The United States Postal Service was notified and they will be assisting us in the totality of this investigation.
“I applaud the resident who called this suspicious vehicle in to us. We cannot be everywhere at all times so it is very helpful when our community gets involved and provides an opportunity for all of us to work together. The three suspects in this case have criminal histories and they were caught as they were actively continuing their criminal lifestyle. I am identifying the three suspects as:
- Franklin Huffman, 37, Antioch- arrested for: Mail Theft & Conspiracy
- Jordan Hanson, 26, Pittsburg (probationer)- arrested for: Mail Theft & Conspiracy
- Thomas Costa, 31, Antioch- arrested for: Mail Theft, Conspiracy & theft related arrest warrants
If any rehabilitation efforts have been made in the lives of these three men it is clear it has not worked. Due to the way our criminal justice system is currently arranged these men may actually be out of custody soon to continue a pattern of preying upon others. I am proud of each Oakley officer involved in this case. All five of them are either new to our department, or their position, within the past year. All of their individual, and combined, efforts are appreciated and they are proving to serve the residents and business owners of Oakley very well. These five officers will be on the lookout for the likes of the three suspects in this case for years to come, and for that I am grateful.
Be safe everybody and if you see anything suspicious- please call.”
Chief Paul Beard
