DeKalb Residents Among Victims of Mail Thief: Police

By Justin Ove

A man who has allegedly stolen boxes of mail in three counties – including DeKalb -- faces 50 charges of identification fraud after police say they caught him driving a U-Haul truck full of missing letters and packages.

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, a woman in Buckhead noticed the driver of a U-Haul van pull up to her mailbox and take the mail out, an Atlanta police report said. She called police, and was told to contact the United States Postal Investigators while Atlanta police units tried to track down the van.

An off-duty officer spotted the van with Arizona tags shortly after hearing a description on police radio and began trailing the vehicle while waiting for backup to arrive. Uniformed officers pulled the van over and questioned the driver, who initially provided a false name and was found with a fake ID in his wallet, the report said. After further requests to identify himself, the suspect told police that his name was Corey Jefferson, 30.

The Buckhead witness identified Jefferson as the man she saw stealing her mail. Investigators discovered stolen mail which was meant for 47 different area residents and businesses, some of which had already been opened. Investigators also discovered a baggie of syringes, two glass pipes for smoking methamphetamine, rolling papers, and a glue syringe used for huffing, the report says. Police believe that all of the drug paraphernalia belongs to Jefferson.

Fulton County jail records indicate that Jefferson, a man with a history of drug arrests, now faces charges of financial identity fraud, theft by taking, driving with a suspended or revoked license, transacting in drug-related objects, and giving a false name to police. He is being held without bond.