Pair suspected of using rat glue traps to steal mail in Pleasanton

Pair accused of using rat glue traps to steal mail from collection boxes

A man and a woman were busted by Pleasanton police for allegedly using rodent glue traps to fish for mail.

PLEASANTON, Calif. - A man and a woman have been charged with stealing mail from collection boxes in Pleasanton in a most unusual way — using rat glue traps to fish for letters.

"It's pretty pathetic, I think, you know, it's pretty sad," said Stanley Cornelius after leaving the post office on Chabot Drive where the two were arrested.

"All types of stuff come through the mail, personal items people need, and you know if you're tampering with items, they don't get their items," Cornelius said.

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Pleasanton police say it all began one night in December, when a license-plate reader alerted an officer to a wanted Toyota Echo linked to mail theft.

The officer spotted the car with expired tags outside the Hacienda station post office.

Stolen mail covered in goo

What we know:

Inside the car was a garbage bag full of mail stolen from across the Bay Area. But there was something peculiar about it: the bag, the mail and a rubber strap were all covered in a sticky substance.

"There were multiple sticky rat traps inside the passenger compartment of the Toyota and in the trunk," Pleasanton police Officer Eric Mossi wrote in a report. "The sticky substance from the rat traps was consistent with the substance on the rubber strap and the mail."

Practice known as "mail fishing"

What they're saying:

U.S. Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet said rat traps like those commonly found at hardware stores are just one type of "mail fishing" device. 

"Sometimes you'll see sticky residue in the boxes. That's another sign of tampering," Norfleet said.

He said the postal service appreciates the work by Pleasanton police.

"In this case, it's the rat who's using the trap, not getting caught in it," Norfleet said.

Postal customers were shocked that mousetraps were being used to trap mail.

"It's insane. People nowadays will do anything to get anything, to steal information from anyone," said Pleasanton resident, Ann McCue.

Srijani Saikia of Dublin said she had never heard of the rat trap method to steal mail, noting, "That's an interesting tactic."

She said, "You expect your mail to be taken where it should be taken."

The suspects, Luis Castro Rayo and Doris Power Cruz, live together in Hayward. 

Both were charged on Tuesday with receiving stolen property.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan