A man and woman from Oakland have been charged with mail theft and possession of stolen property after Berkeley police reportedly found nearly two dozen pieces of stolen mail in their SUV, authorities report.
The mail belonged to 17 different people from Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland, the Berkeley Police Department said in a prepared statement on Thursday evening.
According to the statement, police responded at about 8:20 a.m. Saturday to Berkeley’s Panoramic Hill neighborhood when someone reported a package theft.
“The alert person in the neighborhood noticed one of the suspects stealing a package from their neighbor and immediately called the police,” according to BPD. “When officers arrived, they learned that the suspects were last seen driving up the Panoramic Way hill in a full-size SUV and had not returned yet.”
Panoramic Way has just one way in and one way out of the area, police noted in the statement: “As you might imagine, officers caught up with the suspects soon after. When officers approached the suspect’s SUV, they couldn’t help but notice that the back seat was full of packages.”
Both people in the SUV were arrested on suspicion of theft- and drug-related violations, said BPD.
On Monday, the Alameda County district attorney’s office charged Stephen McCorry, 29, and Ieisha Griffin, 47, with misdemeanor theft, possession of stolen property and mail theft, according to BPD.
Neither one is listed in custody in Alameda County jail records online.
McCorry and Griffin are set for arraignment at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland on June 3, according to court records online.
