Suspected Stockton mail thief arrested in Elk Grove

ELK GROVE - A suspected mail thief is behind bars, thanks to surveillance footage of a recent incident.

According to the Elk Grove Police Department, on January 4, officers were notified of an attempted theft from three cluster mailboxes in the area. At the scene, officers were given surveillance footage that showed the suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Stockton resident Misael Cazares, getting out of a truck and using a key to try to open the rear panel of some cluster mailboxes.

Fortunately, the video captured the suspect vehicle's license plate. Cazares was found to be on probation and had two outstanding warrants for his arrest for fraud. His truck was entered into Elk Grove's automated license plate reader system (ALPR) as a wanted vehicle. 

Just over a week later, detectives were alerted by the license plate-reading system that Cazares's vehicle was back in the city. Officers subsequently found Cazares driving through the city and pulled him over, police say. 

A search of Cazares' truck turned up fabricated keys used to open USPS-secured mailboxes, credit/debit/ID cards belonging to others, numerous notes containing others' personal identifying information such as social security numbers and dates of birth, a stolen business payroll check for over $200,000, and a stolen check for $15,000 with the payee information removed, police say.

Cazares was arrested on multiple charges, including unlawful possession of others' personal identifying information, possession of burglary tools, and violation of probation. He was later charged by the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office with unlawful possession of others' personal identifying information, possession of burglary tools, and possession of stolen property.

In:
• Elk Grove News