SEATTLE — A postal carrier who stole mail from people on his route in Des Moines used cash and gift cards he found to fund his pot habit and then spent his time getting high instead of delivering mail.
Charles Wright, 57, will be sentenced in Federal court Wednesday, but it’s unlikely he’ll go to prison and he will likely get to keep his taxpayer-funded pension.
Prosecutors said Wright admitted he stole mail and then used the money to buy marijuana and then spent time smoking it instead of making his rounds.
Wright stole gift cards and cash found in letters to support his marijuana habit, tossing the envelopes out of his mail truck, documents said.
Court documents said Wright stole mail during a two-year period between July 2010 and July 2012.
The crime is Wright’s first offense and he has shown remorse. Both are possible reasons why prosecutors are recommending he gets two years' probation and a $1,000 fine rather than jail.
Court records don't explain why Wright gets to keep his postal service pension, but the lack of a criminal record could account for that.
Wright was a postal carrier for 34 years.