MCCORDSVILLE, Ind. (April 29, 2015) – When gift cards and greeting cards never arrived for some McCordsville residents, they wondered if they got lost in the mail.
As is turns out, according to investigators, their mail carrier never delivered them. He’s accused of plundering envelopes and stealing gift cards intended for customers along his postal route. Brett Teeters, 34, Pendleton, faces charges of official misconduct and three counts of theft, according to court documents. In addition, prosecutors filed charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after investigators discovered drugs while searching for missing mail.
The investigation began on April 9 after a Missouri resident called to say a pair of gift cards never reached his son in McCordsville. Someone else had spent the cards—$100 to Lowe’s and $100 to Home Depot—the man said. He told investigators his son never received the cards.
Investigators with the U.S. Postal Service discovered the cards were used in central Indiana. They obtained surveillance footage showing a man matching Teeters’ description redeeming them shortly after they were mailed. He used one card at a Lowe’s store in Anderson and the other at a Home Depot in Noblesville, investigators determined.
Later in April, investigators received a report concerning tubs of mail that someone dumped in a wooded area in McCordsville. The postal service said the haul included more than 600 pieces of mail. The dumped mail included two U.S. Treasury tax refund checks totaling more than $2,000. The mail should have been delivered to residents on Teeters’ route, investigators said.
On April 27, investigators executed search warrants on Teeters’ home and vehicle. They found more tubs of undelivered mail, according to court documents. A search of Teeters’ Chevy Suburban produced greeting cards that had been rifled through along with several gift cards meant for residents along Teeters’ mail route. Investigators also found marijuana and drug paraphernalia, court documents said.
Teeters was taken to the Hancock County Jail. Investigators with the USPS Office of Inspector General said Teeter admitted to special agents that he’d stolen gift cards and dumped the mail.
The Postal Service has processed and delivered the abandoned mail.
