Three Members Of Extensive Mail Theft Ring Face Federal Charges
The Defendants Allegedly Targeted Apartment Complexes in North and South Carolina
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A criminal indictment was unsealed today in federal court following the arrest of two of the three defendants charged with mail theft, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer is joined in making today’s announcement by Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which oversees Charlotte.
Haleem Cornelius Gilliland, 23, of Charlotte, North Carolina, Shemar Isaiah Walker, 20, of, Atlanta, Georgia, and Daron Quashawn Wright, 20, of Shelby, North Carolina, are each charged with conspiracy to commit mail theft. Gilliland is also charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Law enforcement apprehended Gilliland and Walker on March 3, 2021. Wright has not been arrested yet.
According to allegations in the indictment, between November 2019 and February 2020, Gilliland, Walker, Wright and other co-conspirators stole and took letters, postal cards, packages, bags, and other mail (collectively, mail) from the mailboxes of at least nine apartment complexes in North and South Carolina. As alleged in the indictment, Gilliland and other co-conspirators used the stolen mail, including stolen driver’s licenses and stolen credit cards, to pay for car rentals, hotel rooms, and to pay for other personal expenditures.
Gilliland and Walker are currently in custody. The charge of conspiracy to commit mail theft carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory term of two years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed, and a $250,000 fine.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the USPIS for their investigation which led to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.
