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Officers responded to a report of individuals in a white minivan taking mail and packages from mailboxes in the area of Hawks Hill Road at about 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, according to the New Canaan Police Department.
Police located the minivan in the area of Jelliff Mill Road and Shady Knoll Lane and spoke to the occupants of the vehicle, authorities said.
While speaking to the minivan's occupants, officers saw a piece of mail that was addressed to a home on Hawks Hill Road in the vehicle, authorities said.
After searching the vehicle, officers located more than 30 pieces of mail from homes in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, along with stolen checks, police said.
Police arrested the four occupants of the minivan, identified as 19-year-old Deshawn Bent, of Staten Island, 23-year-old Marcus McLaughlin-Thorpe, of New York City, 18-year-old Iyanna Mitchell-Rivera, of Staten Island, and 21-year-old Denzel McLaughlin, of the Bronx, authorities reported.
Police said McLaughlin-Thorpe, Mitchell-Rivera, and McLaughlin were charged with:
- First-degree larceny
- First-degree conspiracy to commit larceny
- Third-degree conspiracy to commit identity theft
Authorities said Bent, who was the driver of the minivan, was charged with:
- First-degree larceny
- First-degree conspiracy to commit larceny
- Third-degree identity theft
- Failure to renew registration
- Illegal operation of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance
- Operation of a motor vehicle without a license
Following the arrests, the United States Postal Inspection Service will continue an investigation into the case, police said.
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