More than 1,000 pieces of stolen mail from Wellesley found after police chase
WELLESLEY - Two men are facing charges after a police chase in Massachusetts led to the discovery of more than 1,000 pieces of stolen mail. Newton police say Dahshein Perry, of Boston, and New York resident Yasser Mendonca are charged with receiving stolen property and failing to stop for police.
Wellesley police began following a red BMW convertible at about 2 a.m. Monday morning because it was wanted in a "fishing heist" at multiple USPS mailboxes in town. The pursuit was called off but then restarted in Newton, where police say the suspects sped off during an attempted traffic stop on Hammond Pond Parkway, and ended when the car crashed in Brookline.
Officers arrested the 22-year-old suspects after they initially ran away from the scene, police said. Back in the car, officers said they found a "trunk full of mail."
What is a mailbox "fishing" scheme?
Police have previously warned about the mailbox fishing scheme in the area, in which thieves target the blue USPS drop boxes. They say criminals use homemade devices to "fish" mail out of the box. Their target is checks, which they can "wash" clean and then change the name and amount of money on the check.
"They could empty a whole bank account out," said Dottie Leighton, a Watertown resident who was the victim of a mail fishing scheme, told WBZ-TV back in February.
Police have encouraged residents to mail checks from inside the post office instead of dropping it in an outside box.
The suspects in the Wellesley incident were set to be arraigned in Newton District Court on Tuesday.