Police arrest drug suspect, find $55,000 in stolen checks

Officers arresting a man on a drug-related warrant this week recovered some unexpected contraband: dozens of pieces of stolen mail, including more than $55,000 in checks meant for veterans, police said.

Police learned that Glenn Snider, wanted for transporting narcotics, was staying at a motel and went to arrest him, police Lt. Chris Boyd said.

Once there, they found Snider, 35, as well as 26-year-old Alexis Pierce and stacks of mail that had been stolen from residents in Encinitas, Oceanside and San Marcos, police said.

There were also about 20 checks from the Semper Fi Fund meant for veterans and veteran facilities across the nation.

The Semper Fi Fund provides financial assistance to members of the military who, post 9/11, were wounded or who fell critically ill, according to the organization’s website.

Investigators determined that Snider and Pierce were altering checks and credit cards so they could use them. There were a variety of tools in the motel room, Boyd said, including one that could be used to add a second name to a credit card, making it look like it belonged to a shared account.

Police also found burglary tools, such as lock picks, and a small amount of methamphetamine.

Snider and Pierce were arrested on suspicion of multiple felony charges, including possessing the identifying information of 10 or more people and possession of equipment used to alter credit cards.

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com

Winkley writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune

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