Earlier yesterday, two men were nabbed after allegedly making off with more than 1,000 pieces of mail in Massachusetts, reports say. Yasser Teixeira Mendonca, 22, of Mount Vernon, New York, and Dahshein Karon Perry, 22, of Mattapan, Massachusetts, faced a high-octane police pursuit before their arrest in Brookline.
According to Boston.com, Newton police got wind of the chase after Wellesley police were already on the suspect's tail for stealing mail in their jurisdiction. Kicking the pursuit into high gear around 4 a.m., an eagle-eyed Newton officer clocked the duo on Route 9, initiating a stop near Hammond Pond Parkway before the suspects fled toward Brookline, only to crash on Newton Street shortly after.
The aftermath of the chase saw a foot pursuit that ended with the dastardly duo in cuffs. "The entire trunk of the vehicle was filled with mail that they had allegedly fished out of mailboxes in the area, as well as some other items like face masks and different items that might help conceal them and help them carry out the crime," Newton police Chief John Carmichael divulged in a statement obtained by WCVB. Both men were then arraigned in Newton District Court on Monday.
Earlier, the mail-marauding escapade was set into motion when the Wellesley police were tipped off by an alarm from a U.S. Postal Service mailbox at the ominous hour of 2:30 a.m. Although initially losing sight of the suspect vehicle after a high-speed exertion, Wellesley's finest observed the red sedan veering through red lights with reckless abandon. The chase was abandoned by the officer for fearing the breakneck speeds were unsafe, according to WCVB.
Having posted bail following their arraignment, Mendonca and Perry were not free for long, as detectives from the Wellesley Police Department swooped in with fresh charges of breaking into a depository and larceny over $250. The pair, suddenly finding themselves under custody again, were processed at the Wellesley Police Station, with potential federal charges for the stolen mail looming over their heads, as per WCVB.
