Mountain View residents soon to be reunited with their stolen mail have both police and a quick-thinking neighbor to thank.
A resident of Montecito Avenue called the Mountain View Police Department at approximately 3:30 a.m. Saturday (Oct. 19) to report suspicious noises emanating from the area around some mailboxes, according to a department press release. An officer who responded observed a Honda van in the area accelerate down the street, and a second officer conducted a traffic stop upon seeing the van run a stop sign.
Within the van, the officers discovered a credit card, checks and personal information that did not belong to the driver, San Jose resident Leo Lawrence, 39, or his passenger, San Jose resident Lakeshia Hardy, 39, according to the release. The officers arrested both of the van’s occupants and charged them with burglary, conspiracy to commit a crime, falsely obtaining personal identifying information and mail theft. Tack onto that a possession of counterfeit money charge for Lawrence and drug charges – possession of methamphetamine and a meth smoking pipe – for Hardy.
The stolen items, from homes on Montecito Avenue and Sierra Vista Avenue, will be returned to their proper owners, according to the police. The department encourages anyone who witnesses suspicious activity to call 911 immediately.
