Men with 36 stolen checks from mail crash into police cars during chase, feds say
Two men stole dozens of pieces of mail from a Louisiana post office, then crashed into two detectives’ cars while trying to escape authorities during a police chase, federal prosecutors said.
The pair had 36 mailed checks, a forged counterfeit check, six opened pieces of mail and a U.S. Postal Service “arrow” key that can unlock USPS mailboxes inside their crashed car on June 23, 2022, according to prosecutors.
One of the men, Chad Woods, a 29-year-old New Orleans resident, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to steal U.S. mail, possession of a USPS “arrow” key and possession of stolen mail, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana said in a Dec. 23 news release.
His attorneys didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Dec. 24.
Court documents say Woods and his co-defendant, Darryl Alexander, came up with a plan to steal mail from USPS mailboxes in the hopes of finding money and checks inside the envelopes.
After midnight on June 23, 2022, the pair headed to a post office in Kenner and unlocked USPS mailboxes to steal mail, the indictment says. Kenner is about a 10-mile drive northwest from New Orleans.
They accessed the mail receptacles with a USPS arrow key Woods had, according to the indictment. It’s unclear how Woods acquired the key. Only authorized USPS employees are supposed to have arrow keys.
Then, with Alexander driving, they went to another Kenner post office and tried to steal more mail, according to prosecutors.
But they were unsuccessful during this attempt, prosecutors said.
At this point, Woods and Alexander were already on law enforcement’s radar, according to prosecutors.
After visiting the second post office, prosecutors said the duo led Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives on a chase. The detectives were assisted by USPS inspectors, according to prosecutors.
While trying to flee the detectives, Alexander slammed into two of their vehicles, prosecutors said.
Then authorities located the stolen mail, according to prosecutors.
Alexander’s attorney, Dane S. Ciolino, declined McClatchy News’ request for comment Dec. 24.
A jury trial is scheduled for Alexander on Feb. 18, court records show.
He’s charged with conspiracy to steal mail and possession of stolen mail and aiding and abetting, according to court records.
Woods is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Mail theft in the US
During the early COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sharp increase in mail theft complaints, according to a September 2023 report issued by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.
From March 2020 through February 2021, there were 299,020 mail theft complaints – a 161% increase “compared to the same period in the previous year,” the report said.
Suspected mail theft can be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online or by calling 1-877-876-2455.
This story was originally published December 24, 2024 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Men with 36 stolen checks from mail crash into police cars during chase, feds say."
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