Sonoma mail theft suspects have long trail of similar arrests

A minor vehicle code violation last weekend may have led to a breakthrough in a number of post office break-ins and mail theft ranging across the greater Bay Area – possibly including the mid-June break-in at the El Verano Post Office.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office deputies, on patrol Aug. 29 near the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, pulled over a gray Mercedes sedan for having an obstructed rear license plate, and discovered the occupants were a pair of out-of-town visitors with a suspicious cargo.

The two “were found in possession of thousands of pieces of stolen mail, counterfeit postal service mailbox keys, as well as counterfeit identifications and checks,” according to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Much of the material was found in a room the couple were renting at the Sonoma Mission Inn.

When they were stopped Richard Belden Waters, 28, a parolee from Contra Costa County, and 26-year-old Desiree Brianna Sanchez, were identified, although they initially gave false names. But Waters had a key to a room at the nearby hotel, which as he was on parole investigators were permitted to search, according to Juan Valencia of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. There deputies discovered extensive stolen and illegal materials, including machines to duplicate postal keys.

Once her identity was established, Sanchez was arrested for seven outstanding warrants from throughout the Bay Area involving multiple charges of stolen vehicles and mail theft. Waters had been convicted of two felony counts of armed robbery in Contra Costa County in 2009, and sentenced to 55 years in prison. He was out on parole.

The two were implicated in a series of similar mail theft crimes in May, when they were arrested in Folsom and booked into the Sacramento County jail for auto theft, identity theft, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to commit a crime.

They were released shortly thereafter for reasons that are not clear; however, Sanchez was then arrested in the Contra Costa County city of Pittsburgh with additional stolen mail from Folsom. She was cited and released at that time, however, due to a positive coronavirus test among the inmates at the Martinez detention facility that kept her from being detained.

Sanchez, Waters and a third suspect — Roger Joseph, 28 — were arrested several days later in El Dorado County, again with several bags of mail stolen from local residents. Again, however, they were released after being cited, according to reporting from the Sacramento Bee.

Their trail disappears in press reports at that point until their Aug. 29 arrest in Boyes Hot Springs.

However, on Monday, June 15, the El Verano Post Office also reported a weekend break-in.

At that time postal inspector Jeff Fitch said the investigation was in its early stages, but pointed out that it is a federal crime to steal or tamper with U.S. mail. The Postal Service has a standing reward policy of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

Neither Sanchez nor Waters has yet been linked to the El Verano Post Office break-in, though this and similar incidents are still under investigation by multiple agencies, according to Fitch.

According to the Sheriff’s Office statement about the Aug. 29 arrest of Sanchez and Waters, mail from Sonoma, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa were found in the duo’s possession, and that mail theft victims would be receiving “theft notifications from the Postal Service in the near future.”

Sanchez and Waters were arrested on misdemeanor charges of identity theft, possession of burglary tools and of drug paraphernalia, as well as felony charges of identity theft, receiving stolen property and providing false identification. Waters’ charges include a “no bail” hold due to his parole violations; Sanchez’s bail is set at $35,000.

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.