A Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department months long investigation into mail thefts in the region culminated with the arrest of two suspects on Thursday.
Rebecca Lynn Reagan, 36, of Waterford and Ryan William Swindle, 43, of Hilmar were arrested Thursday on a variety of charges including mail theft, said Stanislaus County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz.
Also arrested during the operation was Brittany Dickerson, 30, of Modesto for narcotics-related charges.
The suspects were stopped Thursday during a traffic enforcement stop after leaving a residence subject to a search and arrest warrant in the 400 block of E Street in Waterford, Schwartz said. The traffic stop was made in front of a business located in the 12700 block of Bentley Street at about 8:45 a.m. Thursday and made pursuant to the search warrant for the E Street residence.
A search of the vehicle and the E Street residence turned up a large amount of stolen mail, narcotics, a firearm, ammunition and forensic digital evidence to suggest identity theft, according to the sheriff’s department.
Reagan was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle and Swindle was the driver. Swindle was found to be in possession of a fully loaded .40 caliber handgun, located in his pants pocket.
“A fair amount of methamphetamine, weapon holsters and bear mace were also found in Swindle’s immediate possession,” Schwartz said.
Reagan was taken into custody for the mail theft and mailbox vandalism warrant. She also was in violation of her probation.
The sheriff’s department is working with investigators from the United State Postal Service to go through the stacks of stolen mail and resolve mail theft cases in multiple jurisdictions. The sheriff’s department also is using computer forensic experts to aid in finding those whose personal identifying information has been compromised.
Reagan, Swindle and Dickerson were booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center.
The Stanislaus County Probation Department, as well as investigators, special vehicle operations, patrol and community resource deputies with Waterford, Riverbank, Patterson and Hughson Police Services all participated in the investigation and arrests.
Community Resource Deputy Summerton is the case agent and can be contacted directly at the Waterford substation should members of the public have any information they want to share. He can be reached at (209) 874-2349.
