Letter Carrier Convicted Of Dumping Mail

A substitute postal carrier who was convicted this week of dumping more than 150 pieces of mail that was later discovered in a Bon Air creek now faces an embezzlement charge in the theft of merchandise from his employer at Chesterfield Towne Center.

Timothy N. Myrick, 20, of the 7900 block of Mill River Lane, was arrested Sept. 15 by Chesterfield police on a charge of embezzling about $235 worth of merchandise over a six-month period from Macy's, where he was employed this year, said Chesterfield police Sgt. Michael Hines. The date of the offense is listed as Aug. 28, according to court records.On Monday, Myrick was convicted after a four-hour trial in U.S. District Court here of a single count of obstructing delivery of mail in April. A magistrate judge sentenced Myrick to six months probation and fined him $150.

According to federal court papers, Myrick was working as a substitute letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service's Bon Air branch on April 7 when he intentionally failed to deliver 131 pieces of standard mail and 45 pieces of first-class mail.

Investigators determined Myrick dumped the mail in a storm drain behind a cluster of mailboxes for an apartment complex, and the mail flowed through a culvert into a creek, where it was discovered by a neighborhood resident -- a former police officer -- on April 27.

The neighbor traced the creek and culvert to a location where the mail likely had been dumped and called police. The Bon Air Post Office was contacted, and officials collected the mail, took it back to their facility and dried it before submitting it to internal postal investigators, according to evidence presented Monday.

Another neighbor testified that on April 7, as she was walking her dog, she saw a young man in a postal truck dressed in civilian clothes stop at a cluster of mailboxes and "fiddle with" the back of the them -- but didn't pick up or deliver any mail. The man then moved his vehicle to the next set of mailboxes and repeated the same suspicious activity, according to testimony. The neighbor noted the date and time and called postal authorities.

In further evidence, the manager of the Bon Air Post Office testified that he interviewed all five carriers who split the mail route in question on April 7, and only Myrick could not remember what portion of the route he covered. Postal records showed that he was the carrier on the portion of the route covered by the addresses whose mail had been dumped.

The other four carriers testified that the portion of the route they covered did not include the addresses for the recovered mail.

At the time of the offense, Myrick worked as a substitute postal carrier who filled in where needed, covering routes for carriers on leave or vacation. He had held that position since January, officials said.

Myrick, who is free on bond, is scheduled to appear Nov. 17 on the embezzlement charge in Chesterfield General District Court.

www.timesdispatch.com