Man arrested, charged in string of mail thefts across Seattle area
Man accused of stealing mail trucks arrested
A Seattle man accused of stealing mail trucks and handfuls of mail was arrested.
SEATTLE - The suspect in a string of mail thefts and stolen mail trucks in South Seattle now faces federal charges.
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown announced Wednesday that 27-year-old Johny Mixayboua was arrested and charged in the U.S. District Court in Seattle. Mixayboua is accused of several mail thefts, stealing a mail truck, stealing mail keys and identity theft.
According to the criminal complaint, a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) truck was stolen near Renton Ave S and S Bangor St. on Dec. 28, 2022. The truck had keys to nearby cluster mailbox units in Rainier View, Lakeridge, Allentown and Bryn Mawr-Skyway.
Since those keys were stolen, residents have reported their mail being stolen, including credit cards.
USPS gathered video surveillance of the mail theft from neighbors, as well as images of stolen credit cards attempting to be used, which led them to identify Mixayboua as the suspect. Authorities also determined that cars involved in several of these mail thefts had been reported stolen.
Over the next month, more USPS trucks were stolen—two stolen near Alki Beach on Jan. 17, 2023, one stolen in South Seattle on Jan. 30, 2023, and yet another in Bellevue on March 28, 2023. Throughout this, people reported seeing parcels stolen from trucks and having their credit cards stolen. Mixayboua was identified as the suspect in these, as well, through surveillance photos.
Authorities say other suspects were involved in the theft operation, which stretched from Lake Forest Park to southeast Seattle, and even reached Snoqualmie.
The USPS was forced to stop mail deliveries in zip code 98118 for a week while investigators tracked down and arrested Mixayboua.
Mixayboua faces federal charges of mail theft and possession of stolen mail. Investigators are also working to identify Mixayboua's co-conspirators.
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Mixayboua is scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday afternoon.