ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A fake letter carrier in Ann Arbor fled into a wooded, wetland area after officers confronted him about using a USPS collection box key to steal dozens of pieces of mail that contained checks, police said.
Calvin James Riles Jr. was seen around 10:45 a.m. Monday (March 21) by an official who was watching the area for thieves targeting mailboxes. In late 2019, USPS received information about checks being stolen from the mail stream in Ann Arbor, and authorities believed the thieves owned a key to collection boxes.
Riles was seen in the area of mailboxes that had previously been targeted in this scheme, according to authorities. He was dressed as a letter carrier while checking two blue collection boxes on Airport Boulevard across the street from the Key Bank on State Street, court records show.
He reached in and rifled through pieces of mail inside the first collection box, taking a long time, authorities said. That was unusual because letter carriers typically grab the entire tub of mail, drop it in a USPS truck or bag and depart, according to officials.
Riles closed the first collection box, went to the second and searched through it in the same way, police said.
