An alert citizen has helped Los Altos Police detectives arrest two East Palo Alto residents suspected of at least nine mail theft incidents in Silicon Valley.
At 7:19 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a report of a suspicious person in the 400 block of Torwood Lane in Los Altos. There officers found two suspects, according to a Los Altos Police Department report.
“It was determined that the two suspects came to the area together and were found to be in possession of mail that had been taken from several mailboxes in the neighborhood,” according to the report.
Officers charged the male suspect with mail theft and the female suspect with mail theft and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the report.
When asked for their names, the suspects allegedly lied and gave investigating officers the names of two victims instead. A press release mistakenly referred to the suspects with these fake names. Later, officers realized the mistake, but they have not yet published the suspects’ actual names.
Working with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and other area agencies, officials have identified nine victims in the Los Altos and Cupertino areas. They are working to identify additional victims. It is not yet known whether the pair is connected to a handful of recent burglaries in Los Altos Hills.
Report suspicious activity to the Los Altos Police Department at 947-2770.
Update: An earlier version of this story gave two names to the suspects found in the 400 block of Torwood Lane. Los Altos Police have said that the names given were actually victims of identity theft and had no involvement with this case. The suspects were arrested and released on citations.
