Peninsula Mail Theft Suspects Lead Cops On 2-County Pursuit

SAN MATEO, CA — Two mail theft suspects were arrested early Saturday morning after leading authorities on a two-county pursuit, the San Mateo Police Department said in a news release.

Michael Torres, 32, was arrested on suspicion of mail theft, conspiracy to commit a crime and evading police and Tamara Garcia, 39, was arrested on suspicion of mail theft and conspiracy to commit a crime, police said. Both suspects are from San Jose.

Torres was driving a 2013 Kia and failed to yield when police tried to pull him over for an alleged lighting violation at around 1:50 a.m., police said.

The California Highway Patrol located the Kia speeding southbound on Highway 101 and disabled the vehicle in the area of San Antonio Rd. using a spike strip, police said.

After the Kia exited the Central Expressway and came to a stop Torres and Garcia tried to run away but both were caught.

Garcia had an active no bail warrant from Santa Clara County for an arrest on suspicion of identity theft and was listed as a person of interest regarding mail theft, police said.

A search of the Kia revealed mail stolen from several locations within the cities of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco and a makeshift mail key police said.

The U.S. Postal Service inspector was notified about the incident, police said.

The investigation was forwarded to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office for issuance of arrest warrants and prosecution according to police.