Two Los Angeles area men landed in custody Tuesday after Camarillo investigators say they watched them pull outgoing mail from overstuffed U.S. Postal Service collection boxes at the Camarillo post office on Pickwick Drive. Authorities report recovering dozens of pieces of stolen mail, including checks that had been chemically altered, and say victims collectively lost more than $100,000. The suspects were identified as 19-year-old Alejandro Jacobo of Norwalk and 21-year-old Juan Antonio Landa of Garden Grove; both are being held on $75,000 bail.
Camarillo detectives say they were conducting extra patrol at the Pickwick Drive post office when they spotted a vehicle linked to prior mail thefts, pulled it over and found a cache of stolen envelopes and checks inside. Both men were booked into the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
How Detectives Say The Scheme Worked
Investigators say the suspects stuffed the exterior collection boxes with cardboard so they appeared full, which encouraged customers to drop outgoing mail, often checks, into the receptacles anyway. The thieves then allegedly circled back minutes later to pull the mail. Stolen checks were reportedly chemically "washed" and rewritten for larger amounts, a pattern outlined in the sheriff’s release and echoed in local coverage. As reported by Edhat, the losses tied to the Camarillo case top six figures.
What "Check Washing" Looks Like
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says "check washing" uses common solvents to remove payee and dollar-amount information so criminals can rewrite checks and cash them, and that this low-tech scheme has helped drive a recent spike in check fraud. The agency and banking partners have issued consumer tips, including using indelible ink and dropping mail inside post office letter slots instead of outdoor boxes, to cut the risk. See guidance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Legal Implications
The two men were booked on conspiracy, mail-theft and receiving-stolen-property counts listed as PC 182, PC 530.5(e) and PC 496 in the sheriff’s release. Penal Code §530.5 criminalizes mail theft and related identity offenses, while Penal Code §496 covers receiving stolen property and can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor depending on value. Conspiracy under PC 182 lets prosecutors tie multiple offenses together. See California law for the statutory text in Penal Code §530.5 via the California Legislature and Penal Code §496 via the California Legislature, and explanatory material on conspiracy from Shouse Law.
How To Protect Your Mail
Postal inspectors and local deputies urge customers to drop outgoing checks inside the post office letter slot rather than in exterior boxes that look full, write checks in indelible ink and sign up for Informed Delivery so you can spot missing items early. The Postal Inspection Service also recommends contacting your bank promptly if you notice unauthorized activity and filing a report with postal inspectors.
Anyone who saw suspicious activity at the Pickwick Drive post office or believes they may be a victim is asked to contact the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line and consider reporting the incident to postal inspectors; the sheriff’s release lists report number 26-60448 for investigators. For the full local release, see the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office post linked above.
