'Observant' Resident's Call to Police Leads to Arrest of 4 for Mail Theft in Pleasanton, 13 Other Cities

By Autumn Johnson

Pleasanton police say that four men were arrested on Friday night after a Pleasanton resident called to report seeing a man taking mail out of mailboxes on MacDonald Court.

According to a Nixle Alert released by police, at about 9:20 p.m. on Jan. 3, the resident reported seeing the man take the mail and leave in a "compact silver hatchback-style vehicle."

Police say the responding officers found a silver 2011 Nissan Versa at the end of Olsen Drive, about a half of a mile away from MacDonald Court. The officers searched the vehicle after being given consent by the occupants and discovered what appeared to be stolen mail from addresses in 14 different cities, including Pleasanton. The mail from the 13 other cities were from all over the Bay Area including Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Solano Counties.

Police arrested 18-year-old Elmer Aguilar of Concord, 26-year-old Gustavo E. Rivas of Concord, 31-year-old Ruben J. Ramirez of Concord, and 23-year-old David A. Gonzalez of Antioch and booked them on charges ranging from possession of stolen property to forgery, conspiracy, and drug-related violations. The four were booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

Police are crediting the resident who called to report the suspicious behavior with these arrests and ask that residents continue to report any suspicious behavior to police as soon as it is noticed.

In Dec. of 2013, Pleasanton Police also caught and arrested two suspects they believed were stealing packages off of porches in Pleasanton after a watchful resident called the police to report the suspicious activity.

Related article: Police Nab Porch Package Thieves