Police say alleged mail thieves took almost $1 million in stolen checks

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — On Jan. 20, officers from the Shelby Township Police Department began receiving reports of mail stolen from local businesses. Some of the mail that was stolen contained checks for large amounts of money.

The case was quickly turned over to the department’s Special Investigation Unit, and it started working with the U.S Postal Inspection Service, which was able to use various surveillance techniques on multiple mailboxes that had been previously compromised.

Law enforcement was able to obtain a description of the vehicle that had been stealing mail and the suspects, and SIU and postal inspectors set up surveillance in the area. While doing surveillance, they reportedly saw the suspects arrive in a different vehicle. The detectives reportedly saw them exit the new vehicle and start taking the outgoing mail from mailboxes. The suspects then left the area with SIU following them.

According to Shelby Township police, the SIU coordinated a takedown of the suspects in the vehicle, and Darryl Roberts, 33, and Brad Stewart, 27, both of Detroit, were taken into custody.

Detectives were able to look inside the vehicle and found large amounts of stolen mail, according to Shelby Township police.

The investigation, which used Flock cameras, determined that Roberts and Stewart allegedly traveled to 27 different cities and townships throughout six counties in Michigan, Shelby Township police said, and that they allegedly stole almost $1 million in checks.

Sgt. Kevin Bailey, of the Community Service Unit of the Shelby Township Police Department, said it sounds like the mailboxes did not lock and the suspects were able to just pull them open.

“The investigators were told that the suspects were selling the checks. Probably to someone that has the knowledge to ‘wash’ the checks. We are not sure how much money they got for each check,” he said.

He said the best way to prevent this is to go right to the post office and drop off the mail.

“Great job by our (detectives) and all of their hard work to go into solving this case. I also want to thank the United (States) postal inspectors for their help on this case. It was great to see the postal inspectors and our detective bureau work together so well to help solve this case,” he said.

On Feb. 4, Darryl Roberts and Brad Stewart were arraigned at the 41-A District Court in front of Magistrate James VerPloeg for conducting a criminal enterprise. Roberts and Stewart were given a $250,000 bond, cash or surety, and are required to wear a GPS tether if bond is posted.

Shelby Township Chief of Police Robert J. Shelide said he wanted to recognize the work of officers and detectives.

“Their dedication helped put these thieves behind bars. I couldn’t be more pleased with their diligence and commitment to this case. I also want to sincerely thank the United States Postal Inspection Service for their incredible support and assistance. As for the criminals, we will pursue you and we will apprehend you. Our message is clear; if you break the law, you will be held accountable. With the support of our officers and community we will continue to keep our streets safe,” he said.

Roberts’ attorney is Saleema B. Goodman-Sheikh.

“We have no comment at this time as there is a tremendous amount of discovery and documentation to go through with the client,” Shea Slanec, paralegal with Goodman Sheikh PC, said.

Brad Stewart’s attorney, Joshua Duane Jones, did not respond to a request for comment before press time.