Las Vegas men charged in mail theft plead not guilty
Two Las Vegas men charged with using counterfeit keys to steal checks, credit cards and other information from local mailboxes were arraigned in federal court this week.
John Douglas Gibson, 44, and Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 40, are charged with one count of possession of counterfeit U.S. Postal Service keys, one count of possession of stolen mail, one count of theft of government money, one count of fraud and related activity in connection with access devices, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Gibson was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty. Gibson was taken into custody, and Rodriguez was allowed to stay on release until their jury trial begins on July 27.
The men could face up to five years in prison on the stolen mail count and up to 10 years in prison on each of the other counts, except for the aggravated identity theft count which carries a two-year mandatory minimum penalty which must be served consecutively. They also face fines of up to $250,000 on each count.
According to the May 8 criminal complaint, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service had been investigating reports of extensive mail theft in the Henderson and Las Vegas areas. The reports indicated that someone was stealing mail from individual and cluster mailboxes without causing any damage to the mailboxes.
Investigators said that Gibson and Rodriguez were using counterfeit U.S. Postal Service mailbox keys to steal mail between Feb. 1 and May 7. The criminal indictment specifically charges Gibson and Rodriguez with possessing stolen mail belonging to an individual who resided at La Suena Court in Henderson, stealing U.S. Treasury checks valued at more than $10,000, and fraudulently using Sam’s Club and Lowe’s hardware store credit cards.
Lawyers listed as representing the men in court documents did not respond to emails from the Review-Journal seeking comments.
Information concerning mail theft should be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at postalinspectors.uspis.gov or 1-800-275-8777.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl.
