ICYMI: Observant Buckhead Resident Leads Cops to Mail Theft Suspect

Photo Credit: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office

An eagle-eyed Buckhead resident who noticed something strange outside her home helped Atlanta police arrest a possible identity thief.

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, a woman in the 400 block of Woodward Way noticed the driver of a U-Haul van pull up to her mailbox and take the mail out, an Atlanta police report stated. She called police, and was advised to contact the United States Postal Investigators while Atlanta police units tried to track down the van.

An off-duty officer spotted the van with Arizona tags shortly after hearing a description on police radio and began trailing the vehicle while waiting for backup to arrive. Uniformed officers pulled the van over at Peachtree Battle Avenue and Northside Drive, and began questioning the driver, who initially provided a false name and was found with a fake ID in his wallet, the report said. After further requests to identify himself, the suspect told police that his name was Corey Jefferson, 30.

An officer returned to the victim’s home and brought her to the scene of the arrest, where she identified Jefferson as the man she saw stealing her mail. A postal investigator advised that the case was not a federal matter, but pledged to assist Atlanta police with processing the evidence.

The van was taken back to the precinct, where investigators discovered stolen mail which was meant for 47 different area residents and businesses, some of which had already been opened. Investigators also discovered a baggie of syringes, two glass pipes for smoking methamphetamine, rolling papers, and a glue syringe used for huffing, the report says. Police believe that all of the drug paraphernalia belongs to Jefferson.

Fulton County jail records indicate that Jefferson, a man with a history of drug arrests, now faces charges of financial identity fraud, theft by taking, driving with a suspended or revoked license, transacting in drug-related objects, and giving a false name to police. He is being held without bond.