DOJ: Visalia postal worker pleads guilty to stealing suspected drug parcels
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Visalia postal worker has pleaded guilty to stealing parcels he believed contained marijuana, according to the federal Department of Justice.
Prosecutors say 34-year-old Nathan Vaughn Southard of Visalia pleaded guilty on Monday to theft of mail by a postal service employee. Southard was an employee at the Tulare Main Post Office.
According to the Department of Justice, on Oct. 19, 2023, Southard stole a parcel from the post office because he believed it contained marijuana. He intended to sell it for a profit. Southard admitted that he had stolen parcels worth approximately $50,000 over the past seven years.
“Narcotics and theft offenses committed by Postal Service personnel are completely unacceptable,” said U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Western Pacific Area Field Office, Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Paige.
Southard is set to be sentenced on September 9 and faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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