Police begin contacting victims whose mail was recovered

Menifee Police Chief Brandon Ford said Wednesday "at least seven" Menifee residents whose mail was stolen recently have been told that some or all of their mail has been recovered. That doesn't mean it will be returned immediately, however.

Speaking to Menifee 24/7 the day after the Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced the arrest of a Mead Valley man in possession of stolen mail, Ford said the theft from each victim is investigated on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances and the agency in charge of that investigation.

"As for recovered stolen mail, to the extent that it is evidence in an ongoing criminal investigation, we won't release it until the investigation and prosecution have run their course," Ford said. "For cases that are adopted by the postal inspector, that mail will be returned by them on a similar timeline.

"For cases that stay in the state system, it will be returned by my staff. However, often times the value of the mail is not even worth the paper by the time it is ready for return. And the victims know what it is, and have taken steps to have important documents or property reissued."

Thus answering victims' questions of when their mail will be returned is a difficult one. The Sheriff's Department does not have complete numbers on mail theft in Menifee in the last few months, but nearly 80 people have reported to Menifee 24/7 they have been victimized, some multiple times.

The Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday the Jan. 13 arrest of two men in Mead Valley after more than 800 pieces of stolen mail from 267 victims were recovered at a residence, including some from Menifee. Weapons and a stolen vehicle were also discovered.

Silottakone Chanthavong, 39 (right), was officially charged Wednesday with receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a blackjack weapon, and probation violation. He remains in jail on $110,000 bail.

Jerold "Kenny" Alford was booked on suspicion of being an ex-felon in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. He was released on $25,000 bail.

The investigation is ongoing regarding all crimes currently charged and details of the mail theft.

Ford acknowledged the frustration of mail theft victims who haven't been notified, saying "it is a fair assumption" that stolen mail has not been recovered for those who haven't been contacted. The number of Menifee mail theft victims among the 267 victims in this case was not released; several other cities were involved. In addition, there are likely many other mail thieves who have not been apprehended.

"In every case, where the recovered mail was located in possession of people engaged in identity theft-related crimes, we contact the victims to let them know we have their mail, and give them suggestions for how to protect themselves and determine if their identity had in fact been stolen," Ford said.

"Like all fraud investigations, the process is very labor intensive and can take a long time to work through. If we have property of value or evidence of possible further victimization, we will be in contact with the victims ASAP.

"When these thieves steal mail, they take everything in the box, but mail that contains nothing of value or is unlikely to yield personal information is often quickly discarded. So there is frequently little hope of recovering family letters, greeting cards and other personal communications whose only value is sentimental."