FRESNO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against a Fresno resident, charging him with conspiracy, obstruction of correspondence, and possession of stolen mail, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Joaquin Velasco, 22, and another individual conspired to steal mail from a mail truck. On Feb. 26, they broke into a mail truck while the mail carrier was using the vehicle to deliver mail on a mail route. They removed multiple bags of mail and a white tray of mail and fled the area with the stolen mail in their vehicle. Velasco took the mail, before it was delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with the intent to obstruct the correspondence.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandre Dempsey is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Velasco faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
