Portland Man Charged With Stealing Mail – KXL

PORTLAND, OR – According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon, Michael John Peters, 42, of Portland, has been charged with stealing mail from condominium and apartment complexes in Northwest and Southwest Portland.

Court documents indicate that from May to September of this year Peters used counterfeit or modified postal keys to access mailboxes on at least 12 occasions.  Authorities said U.S. postal inspectors, who working with the Portland Police Bureau, executed a federal search warrant on September 23rd at an apartment in the Pearl District that Peters rented using a stolen identity.  In the apartment, investigators said they found evidence of identity theft, which included approximately 300 pieces of mail that were not addressed to Peters, false identification documents, stolen identity documents, and counterfeit checks.

Peters made his first appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge in federal court on September 25th.   The judge ordered him detained pending further court proceedings.