Brier couple arrested with car full of stolen mail

EDMONDS — Police in Edmonds are investigating a Brier couple after finding more than 400 pieces of apparently stolen mail in their car late last week.

Inside the dark blue Honda Accord, officers recovered mail belonging to as many as 159 victims from as far north Arlington and as far south as Seattle.

Some of the mail also had Edmonds addresses.

Part of the mail was found in a large black garbage bag on the front passenger floor board, according to a search warrant. Similar garbage bags were in the backseat.

Police also recovered a briefcase that contained a bundle of mail.

A stack of mail was visible between the passenger seat and center console, court papers said.

A woman, 34, admitted she and her boyfriend had been stealing mail from mail boxes in the area before they were stopped.

“They admitted to looking for gift cards, credit cards, anything like that, anything with any financial aspect to it,” Edmonds police Sgt. Mark Marsh said Tuesday.

Marsh recommends people use locked mail boxes, but even they aren’t a guarantee against mail thieves.

“It can happen to anybody,” Marsh said.

The couple was spotted around 1:30 a.m. Friday. The car was being driven with its headlights off.

Police determined that the driver had a suspended license and placed him under arrest.

Police discovered the stolen mail after beginning to take an inventory of what was inside the car.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.

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