Grand jury charges two men over August burglary of Cornwall post office

On Tuesday, Oct. 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania charged 22-year-old Juan Jose Rodriguez-Tejeda of Luzerne County and 20-year-old Angel Luis Carrasco Marinez of Carbon County for the Aug. 12 burglary of the Cornwall post office.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service had investigated the burglary of the post office, at 7 Boyd St. in Cornwall, and previously announced the arrests of Rodriguez-Tejeda and Marinez.

Read More: Postal Inspection Service announces arrests over Cornwall post office robbery

Rodriguez-Tejeda and Marinez were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary of U.S. post offices and burglary of a U.S. post office. Court records show that Tejeda was also charged with three counts of bank fraud.

The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is Gerard M. Karam. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd is prosecuting the cases against Rodriguez-Tejeda and Marinez.

The indictment alleges that the two men conspired to burglarize U.S. post offices that were known to be closed and unstaffed during weekend holiday hours. The indictment alleges that they first burglarized a post office in Asbury, New Jersey, on May 12, and that Rodriguez-Tejeda subsequently deposited three checks stolen from the post office into his personal bank account totaling $7,424. It also states that Marinez attempted to have three money orders stolen from the Asbury post office cashed by another individual.

The indictment narrative describes that Rodriguez-Tejeda next stole postal tubs from the Orefield post office on or around June 16, and then transported the tubs to his residence in Hazelton.

The Cornwall burglary is said to have taken place in the early morning hours of Aug. 12 – not the late hours of Aug. 11 as previously reported – and there the duo stole postal money orders, access keys, equipment, supplies, stamps, and gift cards in apparently their biggest haul of the alleged theft spree.

The indictment does not detail how Marinez and Rodriguez-Tejeda were identified by federal postal inspectors. The indictment also does not go into detail about whether any checks or money orders stolen from the Cornwall post office may have been deposited. Harrisburg-based postal inspector Christiana Kasian previously told LebTown that some mail was recouped, but noted that the Postal Inspection Service had reason to believe that not all of the mail was recovered.

Marinez has submitted a not guilty plea, while Rodriguez-Tejeda has yet to submit a plea. Marinez is being represented by court-appointed attorney Christopher R. Opiel of Opiel Law and Rodriguez-Tejda is being represented by federal public defender Elliot A. Smith.

In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania noted that the maximum penalty under federal law for burglary of a U.S. post office is five years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine, and the maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release, and a fine.