GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Mar. 9, 2023) – Another break in the case involving a string of mail thefts across several jurisdictions, including Ottawa County, occurred on Wednesday morning.
According to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were notified just before 1 AM about a stolen Jeep from Kalamazoo being spotted in the Byron Center area. After trying to pull the vehicle over near the 84th Street/US-131 junction, a chase southbound on the freeway ensued, which ended when spike strips placed down at the 100th Street exit finally took effect, as the suspect vehicle had to pull over, due to flat tires, near the 142nd Avenue exit in Dorr.
Deputies from both Kent and Allegan counties seized over a hundred pieces of stolen mail inside of the vehicle, including multiple credit and debit cards and checks. The mail came from the Kalamazoo area, Ottawa County and Byron Township.
A 40-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman, both from Kalamazoo, were taken into custody without further incident. They were awaiting arraignment on various state charges, and the US Postal Inspection Service has been asked to look into the matter for possible federal prosecution.
Whether this incident is related to a string of business mail thefts in eastern Ottawa County since last May is not known at this time. A Grand Rapids man was arrested last November following a string of similar crimes late last October. Authorities believe that the perpetrators target pieces of mail for checks that they then attempt to cash themselves, and that this may be a multi-state operation.
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