Spokane - Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that that Fred Nolan, Jr., age 45, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced after having previously plead guilty to the felony charge of Possession of Stolen U.S. Mail and the misdemeanor charge of Theft of Property Used by the United States Postal Service. Senior United States District Judge Lonny R. Suko sentenced Nolan to a 4-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision upon release from Federal prison.
According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, in late May 2013 Nolan broke into the Flour Mill (a building housing several business in Spokane, Washington) and gained access to the locked mail distribution room. When employees later arrived, they located mail from the various businesses in the Flour Mill scattered around the floor. A Postal Service lock mechanism had obviously been broken during the incident. Surveillance video was later reviewed, and Nolan was clearly shown breaking into the Flour Mill’s mail distribution room and then leaving the building with two bags. During a subsequent unrelated burglary investigation at another location, Spokane Police Department detectives located a piece of mail from the Flour Mill. Nolan’s fingerprint was located on that envelope. Nolan has at least 38 prior felony convictions for theft and burglary-related conduct.
Michael C. Ormsby said, “Interference with the U.S. Mails will not be tolerated in the Eastern District of Washington. My office prosecutes aggressively crimes that affect the Mails, this case being one example of that commitment. I commend the cooperative investigative efforts of the Spokane Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service."
This case was investigated by the Spokane Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Caitlin Baunsgard, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
