More News

This story was corrected on May 25, 2011. An explanation follows the story.

A newspaper delivery man has been picking up other people's mail as he dropped off papers along his route, according to Montgomery County Police.

Officers arrested Andre L. Tyler of the 12900 block of Pickering Drive, Germantown on May 19 and charged him with 17 counts of theft, based on mail they found in his car, said Sgt. Jim Brown.

"We won't know until we finish our investigation how long he had been doing it," said Capt. Luther T. Reynolds, commander of the 5th District police district.

Tyler delivered The Examiner newspaper late Wednesday nights or early Thursday mornings, Brown said. Since at least early December, he has been taking mail left overnight in mailboxes along his route on Hawkins Creamery Road, Griffith Road and state Route 108, Brown said.

Tyler tossed the mail into his car's backseat, Brown said, and at the end of the route he would sort through it, keeping gifts and credit cards and throwing out the rest. None of the discarded mail was recovered.

Delivering newspapers "was a great cover," Brown said.

Police learned that credit cards were being stolen in early April when a friend told Brown about more than $2,000 in charges on her credit card bill that were not hers. The friend's mailbox is clustered with four or five others in the 5900 block of Griffith Road in Laytonsville, he said. Another mailbox owner told the friend the same thing had happened to her, Brown said.

Once county police realized they were dealing with mail fraud, they contacted the U.S. Postal Service and a joint investigation was launched in early April, Brown said.

"We're looking to indict this federally," he said.

Victims are coming out of the woodwork, Brown said.

One man reported more than $4,800 in fraudulent charges between March 27 and April 26, according to police charging documents.

Police and postal inspectors independently developed Tyler as a suspect based on credit card charges, he said.

Tyler drives a black 2002 Mercedes station wagon, Brown said. Postal inspectors learned a stolen Discover Card was used at Euro MotorCars in Germantown to buy a fog lamp and fog lamp lens for the car for $162.18.

Postal inspectors went to the dealership May 17. A sales associate said he knew Tyler from other business he had done at the dealership and identified him from a picture, according to an affidavit provided by the postal service.

County police circulated Tyler's license plate number. An officer who lives in an area where mail had been stolen, reported seeing the car in his neighborhood between 1:30 and 3 a.m. May 12, Brown said. Police spotted Tyler about 3:30 a.m. May 19 driving north on Brink Road near Ridge Road.

Police found a Best Buy rewards card, two bank statements, 27 Flagship car wash tokens, five credit cards, assorted papers and six collector coins in Tyler's car, according to police charging documents.

Credit card companies routinely send customers replacement cards about a month before cards expire. These cards are unsolicited and customers are usually not expecting them. Tyler was able to use the new cards without activating them, Brown said.

When an expected package does not arrive customers think it was lost in the mail, he said. His friend had ordered T-shirts for Christmas. When they did not arrive she called the company and the order was re-sent, he said.

Tyler told U.S. Postal Inspector Robert Hein that he began delivering The Examiner in the Damascus, Etchison and Laytonsville area about 10 months before his arrest, according to the charging documents. He said he started opening mailboxes before Christmas.

Kim Parks, a circulation supervisor for The Examiner, said she was not aware of Tyler's arrest and directed questions to contractor WilCan Services LLC of Dumfries, Va., which handles the deliveries. WilCan did not return several calls for comment Tuesday.

County police charged Tyler with 16 counts of theft less than $100 and one count of theft scheme less than $1,000. He is free on $2,500 bond.

The federal investigation continues, Postal Inspector Frank J. Schissler said. Whether federal charges are pursued will depend on the number of victims and the amount of money involved, he said.

Of identity theft victims who know how their identity was stolen about 2 percent report that it was through mail, according to a survey by the Federal Trade Commission.

Possession of stolen mail is punishable by up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine, Schissler said.

ssingerbart@gazette.net

Correction: Of identity theft victims who know how their identity was stolen about 2 percent report that it was through mail, according to a survey by the Federal Trade Commission.