Postal Worker Charged With Stealing Pricey Coins, Mail: Police

SILVER SPRING, MD — A U.S. Postal Service employee has been arrested after police say he stole mailed items — including two coins worth $2,900 — on his delivery route in Silver Spring.

Lorenzo E. Pugh, 32, of Greenbelt, is accused of stealing mail he was supposed to deliver between March 2019 and January 2020, according to Montgomery County police.

The theft came to light on Jan. 2, when the owner of Bonanza Coins in downtown Silver Spring called police about an individual who was trying to sell a pair of pricey coins. The shop owner told authorities that the original owner of the coins had told local coin dealers to be on the lookout for those two coins. Bonanza Coins explained to cops that the coins were recently sold and shipped to a buyer, but never received.

Police said the person who tried selling the coins did not steal them.

After further investigation, police identified Pugh as the culprit. When questioned, Pugh admitted to stealing the coins and other mailed items while on his delivery route in Silver Spring, police said.

Law enforcement and USPS officials later searched Pugh's home in Greenbelt and found multiple pieces of mail, police said.

Pugh is scheduled to appear in Montgomery County District Court on Feb. 25.