Dec. 25 (UPI) — Police in Northern California said they have arrested two people with over 100 packages and envelopes in their vehicle they allegedly stole from mailboxes in days before Christmas.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Tuesday that police arrested Jeremy Blumlein, 41, and Breanna Maier, 26, on charges of reckless evading, identity theft, mail theft and violation of probation.
Police made the arrests after being notified at 1:50 a.m. Monday that a man was seen taking mail from Durham-area mailboxes. A deputy then spotted a vehicle similar to the one described involved in the mail theft and as he approached in his patrol car the suspects fled the scene, turning down various streets.
Police pursued the vehicle only to find it “had already lost control and had rolled over on the north side of the roadway,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said officers found 108 pieces of mail addressed to approximately 56 people at 37 different addresses in Durham and Chico in their car along with methamphetamine and a wallet containing multiple gift and prepaid cards and hundreds of dollars in cash.
Neither suspect was injured in the crash, the sheriff’s office said.