If you’ve had mail stolen in Tulare, it may have ended up in their possession, police say

The city of Tulare has been dealing with a rash of mail thefts over the past two months.

Just this week, the U.S. Postmaster replaced the locks on at least 20 community mailboxes, each of which contained 18 to 20 individual residential mailboxes, according to the Tulare Police Department.

Now, police believe they have arrested two men who may be responsible for the thefts.

Richard Judd, 35, and Charlie Blackwood, 31, both of Bakersfield, were taken into custody Thursday morning after an off-duty officer observed the pair acting suspicious around a community mailbox. Coordinating with on-duty officers, a traffic stop was conducted on the suspects’ car, and in the back seat police found a stash of stolen mail described by the department as “very large.”

Officers also found a counterfeit key, which they believe was used to gain access into mailboxes in residential neighborhoods all over the city and surrounding areas.

Both suspects were booked into Tulare County Jail on numerous charges, including possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools, as well as others related to identity theft.

More charges could be filed, police said.

The department is working to sort the mail so it can be returned to the post office for re-distribution. If your mail was part of the recovered items, you will be contacted soon.

This story was originally published March 28, 2019 at 3:57 PM.