Dayton mail thefts: A new sentencing highlights the path of crimes since 2021

Mar. 8—Mail theft is back in the news this week after Jayon Everett Perrin, 22, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Dayton to 32 months in prison for unlawfully possessing stolen mail.

Law enforcement, who had a search warrant, raided Perrin's apartment in October 2022 and found a postal service key, a United States Postal Service logo jacket, $6,000 in cash, more than 500 checks and approximately 15 debit or credit cards, according to court documents.

Perrin also possessed equipment and supplies for cloning debit and credit cards and altering stolen checks, records stated.

Previous reporting

There had been a rash of mail-related crime over the last few years with items stolen from multiple post office mailboxes in Beavercreek, Trotwood, Oakwood, Dayton, Riverside, Kettering and the Centerville/Washington Twp. area.

Thousands of dollars in business and personal checks have been reported stolen.

The Dayton Daily News reported that the postal service was offering an up to $50,000 reward to help solve the crimes.

When it started

Kettering police began investigating reports of check theft in July 2021 after checks totaling $24,000 were fraudulently altered and cashed in the region.

Those cases involved about 15 victims who dropped checks in outdoor mailboxes at the Forrer Boulevard and East Stroop Road post offices in Kettering

A string of check thefts from U.S. Postal Service mailboxes was to follow.

What exactly was happening?

The thieves used a letter carrier's "arrow key," which is a universal key that unlocks the blue collection boxes, to gain access to post office drop boxes.

A postal service key that unlocks "all Dayton-area mailboxes" was reported stolen in May, police records show. It is possible that more than one key is being used to commit these crimes.

Two U.S. Postal Service workers were robbed of their keys at gunpoint in September 2021 within 15 minutes of each other in Montgomery County. One carrier had his "arrow key" stolen, the other did not have an "arrow key" but had his entire set of keys taken, including his mail truck keys.

Drop boxes outside of post offices are not surveilled by cameras

Detectives said the suspects took the checks, changed the name of the payee and the amount of money the checks were written for and were then able to cash the checks, which is fraud.

A suspect allegedly washed the checks in order to remove the ink and write in a new amount.

How often is this happening?

There have been at least 40 reported local cases since 2022.

In one instance, an estimated 1,000 envelopes — including graduation cards and wedding invitations — were found in a Dumpster in Kettering.

Researchers say the thefts help fuel millions of dollars in cyber-crimes in the U.S. Checks stolen from mailboxes and sold online in October 2021 had a face value of $11.6 million

Police using GPS-tagged mail

Kettering Detectives got the postal service's permission to place three GPS devices inside the drop boxes starting in March 2022, so they would be alerted when the devices moved.

The Kettering police "dummy" parcels were "packaged and marked to appear as a legitimate piece of mail.

In one instance, police tracked the mail to an apartment building on Gracemore Avenue in Kettering near The Greene, where they became stationary.

While police were conducting surveillance of the building, Leonard Blackstone III walked out carrying a "a number of personal checks in various names." When police approached him, he dropped the checks.

Jeffrey Weaver Jr. exited the same building with a small bag that contained checks and a firearm. Keith Dujuan Calahan left the building carrying two black trash bags that were found to contain mail and two of the GPS parcels.

After months of court proceedings, all three pleaded guilty to their charges.

Arrests

Michael E. George, of Cincinnati, Craig A. Ross, of Dayton, Brittany L. Kinder and Daniel L. Yates, both of Newport, Ky., all faced charges. They were suspected of stealing and passing about 30 checks totaling around $100,000.

George, 64, and Ross, 29, are charged with forgery and theft, while Kinder, 30, and Yates, 26, face grand theft and forgery charges.

Keith D. Calahan, 23, of Dayton; Leonard A. Blackstone, 19, of Kettering; Jeff Weaver, 22, of Centerville; and Amond N. Turner, 22, of Trotwood; were arrested in May.

After months of court proceedings, the three pleaded guilty in federal court.

Calahan pleaded guilty in February, 2023, to receiving and unlawfully possessing materials stolen from the U.S. mail, including approximately 250 checks from outdoor U.S. Postal Service blue collection boxes. Calahan intended to use the stolen mail to perpetrate more than $250,000 in fraud, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker for the Southern District of Ohio.

He was sentenced in U.S. District Court in July 2023 to two years in federal prison.

Blackstone pleaded to obstruction of mail and Weaver pleaded guilty to receipt and unlawful possession of stolen mail.

Juan T. Harris, 27, was arrested on a felony charge of receiving stolen property after a crime at the 1490 Forrer Blvd. post office

Jayon Everett Perrin was charged federally with receipt and unlawful possession of stolen mail in October 2022 and pleaded guilty in September 2023.

In all, more than a dozen area suspects have been arrested since late 2021, officials have said.

Suspects in other cases are still being sought.

What can residents do?

USPS officials recommend using drop boxes inside post offices.

Many post offices have 24-hour lobby access. Customers can find lobby hours online at https://tools.usps.com/find-location.

Law enforcement recommends that people also regularly monitor their bank accounts for suspicious activity.

How to report a tip

To report a tip, call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455. The reference numbers for the cases are 3834283 and 3834424.

Mailbox theft victims can report their case via phone 24 hours a day at 877-876-2455, or visit the postal inspection service's website, www.uspis.gov.

A direct email is set up for the public to contact its Cincinnati office at CFOMT@uspis.gov