The San Pablo Police Department announced the arrest of a mail theft crew with thousands of pieces of mail that was stolen.
On two consecutive days in March of this year, a mail theft crew targeted two apartment complexes in San Pablo for mail theft. Detective Bryan Biama began investigating these incidents and worked with community members to obtain surveillance videos of the crimes.
With the assistance of SPPD’s Public Safety Cameras, Detective Biama was able to identify Vanessa Hamilton (57-years old, City of Hercules), Nicole Cooks (39-years old, City El Sobrante), and Neykkia Owens (47-years old, City of Richmond), as the responsible suspects.
Investigators spent weeks of surveillance before serving a search warrant at Hamilton’s residence in Hercules on May 17, 2023. Detectives seized thousands of items of stolen mail and indicia of fraud and identity theft. Additionally, Detectives seized marijuana, methamphetamine, and an unregistered firearm. Hamilton was arrested at her residence. Cooks and Owens were arrested on later dates.
During suspect interviews, Detectives learned this crew would target neighborhoods and mailboxes which offered the easiest access and quickest escape. The District Attorney’s Office subsequently filed felony charges of Burglary and Identity Theft on all three suspects, as well as additional narcotics and weapons charges for Hamilton.
In a video released by San Pablo Police, Detective Bryan Biama shared that on March 24, two female suspects forced their entry into 2830 21st First Street while accessing the intercom lock. After making entry, the female suspects made their way to the residential mailboxes and used a forged key opened all the mailboxes stealing all the items from the residents.
“It took 5-minutes, with both suspects making entry in several seconds using a forged key on the intercom box,” said Biama. “The mail theft took approximently 3-minutes using a forged postmaster key which allowed them to open all the mailboxes at once.”
The same two suspects, the next day also committed mail theft with the help of a driver. The suspects again opened up all the mailboxes and took all the mail within 5-minutes.
Biama said the thousands of document included fraudulent documents, fake checks, stolen id’s, fake ID’s, stolen debit and credit cards, bank deeds, home loans and other forms of credit. Along with stolen electronics and drugs.
Other Mail Theft Stories
- June 2 – Vallejo Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Money from U.S. Postal Service Truck
- May 26 – Postal Service Offers Up to $50k Reward in Antioch Robbery Case
- May 22 – Walnut Creek Police Make Identity Theft Bust
- March 1 – Martinez Man Faces Charges of Robbery, Mail Theft, and Carjacking of a Postal Service Vehicle
- Feb 21 – Mailbox Theft Impacts 78 Units in Pittsburg
- Feb 6 – Oakley Police Nab 3 Mail Theft Suspects With 34 Separate Households Mail
2 comments
I thought that this is a federal crime , felony. The soreass da will plead these criminals down to a minor misdemeanor, slap them on the wrist and give them a wink.
Nothing to see here folks, it’s a simple misunderstanding.
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