A Charlotte man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for mail theft, according to an announcement from the U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. Daron Quashawn Wright, age 29, will face a post-incarceration period of two years of supervised release as detailed by U.S. Attorney Dena J. King of the Western District of North Carolina, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The conviction is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. The crime spanned from November 2019 to February 2021 where Wright alongside co-conspirators, Shermar Isaiah Walker and Haleem Gilliland, raided more than 540 victims' mail across apartment complexes in Charlotte and in several other Southeast states. Victims collectively faced over $172,400 in losses due to stolen checks, credit cards, and packages; all brought to light in the court documents. According to those files, the tools of the trade were as unsophisticated as a crowbar, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On March 3, 2020, a 911 call about a mailbox break-in at a Charlotte apartment complex kicked off Wright's downfall. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, responding officers apprehended Walker at the scene with a crowbar and several bags of mail. The investigation traced back to Wright and Gilliland, who were staying in an area hotel room swamped with stolen mail. The recovery of stolen mail items from the hotel room included various credit and debit cards, along with business and vendor payments.
While both Wright and Walker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail theft, and Gilliland to wire fraud, Walker and Gilliland have already been sentenced to time-served. Wright's sentencing, announced by U.S. Attorney King, closes another chapter in this interstate mail theft operation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte managed the prosecution of the case. In a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement, U.S. Attorney King expressed gratitude to the USPIS and CMPD for their work on the investigation.
