Bags of stolen mail, postal service master key recovered by Central Berks police after chase of suspects

Two New York men were arrested Monday morning after Central Berks Regional police said they fled from the St. Lawrence post office in a car with trash bags full of stolen mail along with a master key to post office drop boxes.

Among the other items found in the car was an altered or “washed” check — the original is believed to have been stolen from a Reading-area mail drop box — belonging to a Catholic parish and made payable to an individual for nearly $14,000, police said.

Police said the driver of the vehicle, Joshua Ramos, 23, ran after causing a multivehicle crash at 10th and Penn streets in Reading. He was found a short time later crouched behind a vehicle in a lot.

A second suspect, Jared Ramirez, 21, was found in the back seat of the car underneath airbags that had deployed during the crash. A third suspect, who hasn’t been identified, remains at large.

Ramos and Ramirez were arraigned Monday night before District Judge Alvin B. Robinson in Reading Central Court on felony counts of theft of mail, receiving stolen property, identity theft, possessing a knowingly counterfeit access device and forgery.

Ramos was committed to Berks County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail to await a hearing. Ramirez was free on $75,000 bail.

Investigators provided this account in court papers:

Shortly after 6 a.m., a resident called police to report two suspicious males hovering around the exterior mail drop box. The caller noted a black BMW with New York registration was nearby.

The man was aware of recent and ongoing incidents of mail thefts and check-washing incidents that have been plaguing that post office.

Central Berks Officer Kristin Yeager spotted a black BMW sedan with New York plates and tinted windows westbound on Howard Boulevard in Mount Penn.

She turned on her emergency lights and siren. The vehicle slowed but did not stop, running a red signal at Clymer Street and Perkiomen Avenue and then Penn Street at 10th Street, where the vehicle entered the city.

The fleeing vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle and triggered a chain-reaction crash involving three other vehicles.

She saw people fleeing the vehicle.

Yeager saw the driver flee to a nearby parking lot, where he fell on ice. As the officer prepared to deploy a Taser, she also slipped and fell, suffering cuts to her hand.

A second male fled the passenger side of the BMW and was last seen running on South 10th Street.

Yeager returned to the BMW and remained with the vehicle until additional units arrived.

Central Berks Officer Christopher DiPietrantonio arrived and saw mail scattered throughout the interior of the sedan. He then noticed a figure under the deployed airbag.

It was Ramirez, who appeared to have facial injuries from the airbag. He was taken into custody without incident.

Police impounded the car in the department’s garage while they obtained a search warrant.

Among the most notable items recovered:

• Three trash bags containing assorted letters and loose mail.

• Six black extra-large leather belts, one with a sticky substance.

• Two glue rodent traps, one unused.

• A post office box master key.

• A washed check from St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, Whitfield, in the amount of $13,946, payable to an individual.

Central Berks Police Chief Raymond Serafin said there have been ongoing thefts of mail from the drop boxes at the St. Lawrence post office and several post offices in the Reading area.

“This has happened many times,” he said.

One victim report his entire savings account, totaling more than $100,000, was wiped out after one of his checks was apparently stolen from the mail, the chief said.

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, check-washing scams involve changing the payee names and often the dollar amounts on checks and fraudulently depositing them. Occasionally, these checks are stolen from mailboxes and washed in chemicals to remove the ink.

Some scammers will use copiers or scanners to print fake copies of a check. Postal inspectors recover more than $1 billion in counterfeit checks and money orders every year.

Serafin said the stolen mail, much which included Christmas cards, some presumably with gift cards, was being turned over to the post office so it can be delivered without further delay.

Recovery of the master key, which presumably can open any mailbox, is significant. He believes the thieves had glue traps and other equipment in case they wanted to quickly grab mail instead of opening the box.

The alert citizen who set in motion the police response that led to the recovery of the master key and other items will be recognized for his alert, timely report, Serafin said.

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CHECK WASHING

• Deposit mail before last pickup.

• Deposit your outgoing mail in blue collection boxes before the last pickup or at your local post office.

• Retrieve mail frequently.

• Never leave your mail in your mailbox overnight. If you’re going on vacation, have your mail held at the post office or have it picked up by a friend or neighbor.

Source: U.S. Postal Inspection Service