Stolen mail tossed along US-131; charges filed

Yahoo

5 hours ago

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A man linked to an Illinois theft ring who fled police in Kalamazoo, tossing letters along US-131 during the chase, appeared in federal court this week on mail theft charges.
Dequon Darvece Hardimon, 26, was indicted for conspiracy to steal mail and possession of stolen mail.
Police are looking for two others. They're accused of coming to Michigan from Illinois in a rental vehicle 'for the purpose of stealing mail.'
During a May 19 police chase along southbound US-131, stolen mail was tossed from the windows of the fleeing vehicle, officials said. Some was recovered.
According to federal court records, thieves targeted mailboxes throughout the Kalamazoo area, looking specifically for personal checks and business checks. The stolen checks were then fraudulently cashed.
Postal inspectors were conducting surveillance in mid-May at Kalamazoo's Miller Road branch when a 2012 GMC Arcadia pulled up to the mailboxes.
Two men jumped out and, using an access key, got into the mailboxes, 'dumping the collected mail into the front passenger and rear passenger seats' of the Arcadia, according to a criminal complaint.
Postal inspectors, emergency lights activated, approached the Arcadia, which jumped a concrete curb and drove across the lawn in an attempt to flee, records show.
The chase was on.
'During the pursuit, postal inspectors observed large quantities (of) mail being discarded from the target vehicle, primarily along U.S. 131 south,' records show.
Postal inspectors were assisted by three other police agencies in the pursuit, which ended about 15 miles away, on Red Arrow Highway in the VanBuren County village of Mattawan.
Hardimon said the only reason he stopped was because of engine failure, and he attempted to run 'because he hates the police,' a U.S. postal inspector wrote in a criminal complaint.
Hardimon was arrested. Two others made good their escape.
Officials found multiple pieces of mail inside the Arcadia, along with multiple personal checks with payment receipts, court records show.
Hardimon told investigators he was offered $1,000 to drive the two unidentified individuals around the Kalamazoo area, records show.
Discarded mail was recovered along US-131 that matched mail found inside the Arcadia, records show.
During a federal court hearing in Grand Rapids this week, a tentative trial date was set for August. The two federal charges filed against Hardimon are each punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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