Crime & Justice

Troopers: Fairbanks man caught stealing mail from boxes

A Fairbanks man was arrested for stealing mail last weekend by Alaska State Troopers -- who say they didn't have to travel far from the scene to find evidence.

Kenneth M. Thompson, 39, was taken into custody after troopers received a report at about noon Sunday of a man stealing mail on Chena Hot Springs Road, troopers wrote in a Wednesday dispatch.

"AST responded and contacted (Thompson) at a row of mailboxes," troopers wrote. "Thompson was in possession of stolen mail on his person when (troopers) searched him."

According to troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen, Thompson had about 20 pieces of stolen mail on him when he was apprehended -- with evidence indicating the boxes at which he was apprehended weren't his first of the day.

"He pilfered several rows of mail boxes in the area," Ipsen wrote in an email Thursday afternoon.

Troopers notified the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the federal agency that investigates mail theft, and arrested Thompson on a misdemeanor count of fourth-degree theft for items worth less than $250. He was held at the Fairbanks Correctional Center, where he was still in custody early Thursday.

Chris Klint

Chris Klint is a former ADN reporter who covered breaking news.

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