Roseville PD: Two arrested on suspicion of mail theft

“On Wednesday, 3/2/22, at about 3:15 a.m., a resident called Roseville Police, reporting two suspects in a red pickup truck possibly breaking into a cluster mailbox in the 100 block of Pebble Beach Court.

Officers responded to the area where the vehicle was last seen. While searching the neighborhood, officers spotted the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop on Washington Blvd, just north of Pleasant Grove Blvd.

While officers approached the vehicle they noticed large trash bags in the bed of the truck. There was a hole in one of the bags which visibly showed mail inside. The driver was later identified as Joseph Lawrence who was on post release community supervision and the passenger was later identified as Jonathan Rude who admitted he was on parole.

As officers searched the vehicle they found burglary tools, USPS mail keys, shaved keys, bolt cutters, and four large trash bags of suspected stolen mail.

The vast majority of mail collected was from residents in Sacramento County. It’s believed that this was the first cluster mail box the suspects hit in Roseville.

Huge thanks go to the alert citizen who reported the suspicious activity. This is a great example of how reporting something that doesn’t seem right can lead to an arrest.”

Joseph Lawrence and Jonathan Rude, both 36 years old out of Chico, were arrested and booked into the South Placer Jail on multiple charges, including parole violations, credit card theft, possession of burglary tools, mail theft, and possession of a controlled substance.”