Postal worker dumps 227 pieces of mail in gas station trash in West Virginia, feds say
A former postal worker pleaded guilty to throwing away 227 pieces of mail while employed in West Virginia, federal officials said.
Brice Pomeroy, 26, pleaded guilty Jan. 8 to obstruction of mail while working as a mail handler at a USPS facility in Charleston, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia said in a news release.
Now, he faces up to six months in prison with up to one year of supervised release, a $5,000 fine, and a restitution fee of $2,051.21, officials said in the release.
McClatchy News reached out to Pomeroy’s attorney for comment Jan. 9 but did not immediately receive a response.
According to court documents, on May 11, 2023, Pomeroy intentionally dumped a large plastic bag with the mail into a trash can outside of a gas station.
A motive was not made clear in court records. Pomeroy is scheduled for sentencing April 24, prosecutors said.
Mail theft
During the early COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sharp increase in mail theft complaints, according to a September 2023 report issued by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.
From March 2020 through February 2021, there were 299,020 mail theft complaints — a 161% increase “compared to the same period in the previous year,” the report said.
Suspected mail theft can be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online or by calling 1-877-876-2455.
This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Postal worker dumps 227 pieces of mail in gas station trash in West Virginia, feds say."
