Photos: Stock Image
Originally Published By: Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office
“Over the past few months the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office has identified several suspects related to the mail theft happening throughout Del Norte County.
Deputies have been diligently collecting information from our Citizens and Community Law Enforcement partners to curtail the ongoing problem.
On 1-27-23 Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was suspected to be involved in the mail theft. A subsequent search of the vehicle lead to the discovery of stolen property and various items related to the theft of mail.
Two suspects were arrested for violations of California Penal Code sections 182(criminal conspiracy), 496(possession of stolen property), 488(petty theft), 484g(use of stolen debit card), 466(possession of burglary tools) and California Vehicle Code 10852(vehicle tampering).
The suspects were identified as Marisa Mattz, DOB 10/21/1982 and Ulderico Benavidez DOB, DOB 1/28/1977. Both were booked into the Del Norte County Jail. Mattz was later released after appearing in court and Benavidez appeared in court this afternoon.
As the investigation was being conducted we met with our Law Enforcement partners, Redwood National Parks Law Enforcement and California State Parks Law Enforcement. Law Enforcement Rangers had also obtained a large amount of evidence involving the same suspects. A search warrant was obtained to search three separate locations, two residences located in Del Norte County as well as a storage unit.
On 02/02/2023 multiple agencies teamed up to execute the search warrants including State and Federal Rangers, the Crescent City Police Department, California Highway Patrol and the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office. A range of evidence was located during the execution of these search warrants including stolen property and evidence of multiple mail thefts .
This investigation is ongoing and the public will be updated as it continues.
Message from Undersheriff Perry: This investigation is a great example of multiple Law Enforcement Agencies in our community working together to address the mail thefts that have continued to plague our community.”
