Handgun, stolen mail recovered during La Crescenta traffic stop
Four occupants of a vehicle in La Crescenta were all arrested last Saturday after they were found in possession of stolen mail and a loaded handgun, police say.
Yesenia Prado, Ivan Figueroa, Jairo Vargasrivera and Jose Melendez were all arrested on suspicion of identity theft while Prado was also booked on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon. The arrests occurred after the car carrying the quartet was stopped by the Glendale Police Department on a license plate violation around 4:50 a.m. near the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Raymond Avenue.
Tahnee Lightfoot, a spokeswoman for the department, said an officer noticed Prado was attempting to hide a large amount of mail underneath a sweater.
She said this led to a search of the vehicle where the officer recovered several knives and a tool to steal mail from mailboxes.
“It’s a sticky device with string that they can throw into the mailbox … and pull mail out of it,” Lightfoot said.
The officer also found a notepad containing names of unknown people, their account information and Social Security numbers. Approximately 80 pieces of mail addressed to 40 people were also recovered.
Lightfoot said the officer also recovered a loaded .32 automatic handgun while conducting a pat-down search on Prado. The firearm was hidden in her bra and was reported stolen from Mercer County in Ohio.
The incident remains under investigation.
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
