Vacaville Police Arrest Duo on Mail, Identity Theft and Drug Charges
Two Vacaville residents were arrested early on the morning of March 8 after a routine traffic stop, during which police discovered mail stolen from nearby mailboxes in their car.
After stopping the car at about 1 am, police discovered the driver, Brandy Bauman, 24, of Vacaville did not have a driver’s license in her possession. As officers went about identifying Bauman and Casey Elder, 28, also a Vacaville resident, they noticed a large amount of unopened mail on the floor of the car. Upon closer inspection, they noted the mail was addressed to several addresses in a cluster nearby.
Officers called several of the addresses and were informed that Bauman and Elder should not be in possession of their mail. Also during the search of the vehicle, the officers discovered methamphetamine smoking pipes.
Apparently, the suspects were roaming around Vacaville stealing mail out of mailboxes. Officers found mail belonging to approximately 20 victims.
Bauman and Elder were arrested and booked into Solano County Jail on charges including: 530.5PC- Identity Theft; 496(a) PC- Possession of Stolen Property-Mail; 12022.1PC- Committing a crime while out on Bail; 11364.1 H&S- Possession of a Methamphetamine Smoking Pipe.
Bauman has been in the news a lot lately. On December 26, she and Victoria Lacey were arrested for possession of meth in a car Bauman was accused of stealing. Prior to that, records show she was arrested on September 5 for possession of a controlled substance, followed by a November 28 arrest for possession of burglar’s tools and unauthorized use of personal identifying information. That was followed on December 16 for possession of stolen property, with charges of retaining personal ID with intent to defraud added on December 20.
Bauman’s history goes back even further. In December 2009, at age 18, records show she was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, petty theft, and failure to appear in court for an earlier charge. Then in February of 2010 she was charged with forgery, issuing a fictitious check, destroying evidence, and possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia for sale. That was followed by another arrest in 2010 and two in 2011 on drug charges, failure to appear in court, parole violations, and in September 2011 being a felon in possession of a firearm.
More recently, on January 9, she was arrested for possession of stolen property and personal ID with intent to defraud, and on January 15 for possession of stolen property and committing a felony while released on bail.
Her partner in the most recent case, Casey Elder, has his own history as well. On August 9 of last year, he was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance and driving, and driving with a license suspended for drunk driving. About a month later, on September 5, he was charged again with driving on that suspended license, and possession of a controlled substance. Then on December 10 he was arrested for possessing drug paraphernalia and a concealed dirk or dagger. On February 4 he was arrested once again, just for possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia.
Older records show Casey was arrested for possession of a controlled substance in 2006 and 2007. He had a DUI in 2008, along with a probation violation. Then in August of 2008 he was arrested for vehicle theft, conspiracy, and resisting arrest. That was followed in October by a probation violation of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
CrimeVoice staff contributed to this report
