Crime & Safety

Alleged Mailbox-Thieving Trio Arrested

The group was reportedly found to be in possession of burglary tools and drugs.

A trio suspected of stealing mail from mailboxes on the corner of Fowler Street and Wentz Drive on Thursday is under arrest, according to a press release from the Gilroy Police Department.

One of the suspects, 32-year-old Maria Santiago, is a Gilroy resident. The other two, 22-year-old Healther Blackbourn and 21-year-old Brittany Morales, were from Salinas.

An off-duty police officer reportedly noticed one of the women taking mail from mailboxes in the area and the car that dropped her off at 8 p.m. The officer reported the incident to Gilroy police, who arrived and pulled the car over for a traffic violation, police said.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The officers performed a parole compliance check for Santiago, searching the vehicle and discovering “several items of mail which did not belong to the occupants of the vehicle, burglary tools, an illegal weapon, stolen property and an undisclosed amount of suspected Psilocybin mushrooms which were determined to be for sale,” according to the report.

Each of the occupants were transported to the Santa Clara County Main Jail, police said.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police arrested each suspect on multiple charges, including possession of burglary tools, intent to sell a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit a crime.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.