Two former U.S. Postal Service clerks who worked at the West Berkeley post office have been sentenced for their roles in a scheme to steal packages of cannabis out of the mail. A third defendant is scheduled for sentencing in August.
All three defendants entered into plea agreements with federal prosecutors. They were first indicted in July 2023, accused of stealing the packages — rather than simply confiscating them, as it is illegal to mail cannabis — and selling the marijuana on their own.
In her plea agreement, Gloria E. Navarro admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit mail theft. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín sentenced Navarro Monday to two years probation and 50 hours of community service, according to court records. Another charge of mail theft was dismissed.
Navarro was shoehorned into a new position at the post office “for which she was never trained,” a position where she had to work 12-hour shifts “with no breaks or days off because of chronic understaffing,” according to a sentencing memo by her federal public defenders.
With Navarro already stressed and anxious because of the new position, “After the COVID-19 virus struck, her mental health issues only magnified, along with a growing sense of isolation,” according to the memo. “At this point, Ms. Navarro should have sought mental health treatment or quit her job. Instead, she committed the offense and will now be sentenced. Ms. Navarro accepts responsibility and is filled with regret and embarrassment.”
Martínez-Olguín gave a second defendant, Jessica K. Pardo-Alvarez, an identical sentence July 8. Pardo-Alvarez also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and had a count of mail theft dismissed.
Pardo-Alvarez’s part in the scheme was “a terrible lapse of judgment during a very stressful period in what has been a challenging, but otherwise law-abiding, life,” according to a sentencing memo from Pardo-Alvarez’s attorney, Sean P.J. Coyle of the San Francisco firm Coblentz, Patch, Duffy and Bass LLP. Pardo-Alvarez had gone into a “temporary tailspin” on account of severe stresses in her family life, according to the memo, but she “accepts full responsibility for her actions.”
Like Navarro and Pardo-Alvarez, Norman Beltran has an agreement to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy, with a count of mail theft set to be dismissed. His sentencing is scheduled for August. Prosecutors are recommending probation for him as well.
Beltran “turned to theft as many addicts do to support his habit. He was disabled, unable to work, and he resorted to stealing,” according to a sentencing memo from his attorney, K. Alexandra McClure. Deep in a methamphetamine addiction, Beltran “did not profit from his crime. He either used the marijuana, or used the proceeds of the thefts to buy more drugs,” according to the memo. Now sober and undergoing regular drug tests, Beltran “is deeply remorseful and ashamed,” according to the memo.
The specific details of all three plea agreements are not available.
H/T: www.berkeleyside.org
