BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – The United States Postal Inspection Service have identified the suspect accused of stealing 200 pieces of mail from Broward County and Miami-Dade residents this week, authorities confirmed Thursday.
According to Plantation police, the USPIS arrested James Pierre, 31, of Miami, who is facing federal charges of mail theft. He was scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning before a magistrate judge.
Authorities said officers received a call of a suspicious vehicle in the area of Northwest 94th Avenue and 15th Street around 4 a.m.
Police said after conducting a search of the U-Haul truck, officers found 200 pieces of mail that belonged to residents in Plantation and Sunrise.
A Local 10 News crew was at the scene as police officers were inspecting the packages with flashlights as they searched the inside of the pickup which appeared to be filled with boxes and mail.
Authorities said they found jewelry in at least one of the packages.
According to an arrest affidavit, after placing Pierre under arrest and searching him, police said they located a Visa credit card belonging to another person.
The affidavit also stated that Pierre’s driver’s license had been suspended on July 5 and he told police that he was unaware of the suspension.
In addition to the 200 pieces of mail, authorities said they found 26 credit/debit cards in various other names, and a Florida driver’s license belonging to another person.
According to the affidavit, the recovered mail was addressed to residences in the Plantation area and other addresses in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Police said they read Pierre his Miranda Rights and attempted to question him, but he declined to answer any questions.
A tweet by the Plantation Police Department said a traffic stop that led to the arrest and federal charges against Pierre.
Neighbors in the area said they’ve been dealing with mail thefts over the last few weeks.
“There’s a lot of people who have been posting, indicating that their mail has been stolen. Some of their mail was returned to them from the rented truck that was driving around and picking up mail,” said Plantation resident Mike Harari.
“I came outside and noticed one, two, three of the mailboxes were left open and then I went in, and I looked and there was nothing in the mailbox,” said one man who lives nearby.
This is the second time this week that mail theft has been reported in Broward County.
On Monday, Sunrise police made a big mail theft bust, highlighting a problem that continues to plague the post office and unsuspecting residents across South Florida.
Detectives said they arrested Andy Louis, of Lauderdale Lakes, after he was caught red-handed at a multi-unit corporate mailbox off Northwest 46th Street. Authorities said Louis’ vehicle was filled with over 800 pieces of mail.
Sunrise police did confirm that the U-Haul truck did contain mail from their city but said it’s too soon to tell if the two incidents are related.
Authorities said that all the mail was returned to its proper owners and Pierre could face hundreds of charges, one for each stolen piece of mail.
Anyone with information on the incident or who has been a victim of mail theft is urged to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
Read Pierre’s arrest affidavit here: