Pair suspected in mailbox thefts found with more than 1,000 pieces of mail

DELTA TWP. — Two people have been charged with stealing mail from dozens of locations in Delta Township, and authorities said at least one of those pieces of stolen mail was an absentee ballot.

Amber Nicole Sperbeck, 26, and Michael James Craig, 42, were arraigned Friday on 39 counts each of mail theft and one count each of improper possession of an absentee ballot, court records indicate. Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd announced the charges in a news release.

Mail theft is a maximum one-year misdemeanor, but Sperbeck is charged as a second-time mail theft offender, making the crime a maximum 5-year felony, according to Lloyd's news release. Improper possession of an absentee ballot carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison upon conviction.

A judge set a $50,000 cash bond for both defendants.

Court records indicate the defendants are represented by the Eaton County Public Defender Office, which could not be reached for comment early Friday evening.

The mail-theft caper investigation dates to the early morning hours of July 4th, when the Eaton County Sheriff's deputies assigned to Delta Township took a larceny-of-mail complaint and used a vehicle description to locate the suspects a short time later, sheriff's officials said.

"Through their investigation 1,000+ pieces of mail were located in the vehicle," sheriff's officials said in a news release.

Sheriff's officials said they would contact people who had their mail stolen.

“Reports of mail theft have increased recently, and sadly have become rather common," Lloyd said in the release. "These thefts lead to further fraud and theft from our citizens, often without the victims realizing that they have been victimized."

Lloyd asked that ciitzens immediately report any suspicious activity they see.

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Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com . Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Pair suspected in mailbox thefts found with more than 1,000 pieces of mail