Police Log: Letter Carrier Foils Package Theft

An observant letter carrier foiled one man's attempt to swipe his neighbor's mail last week.

On May 5 at 2:17 p.m., officers arrested John Raymond Cote, 26, of 296 Diamond Hill Road, apt. 2, for stealing a certified mail package, a white box (later discovered to have contained a cell phone and charger) intended for his neighbor. Cote attempted to blame the theft on another man visiting his home, but officers apprehended Cote instead.

When patrol officer Anthony Conetta Jr. arrived at 294 Diamond Hill Road in response to a report of a theft of a certified mail package by letter carrier Jamie Nunes, she told him she'd seen Cote take a package she'd just delivered to another resident of the apartment building.

She said she suspected Cote was not the package's intended recipient because he left the other mail for that address behind and headed to another apartment. She said she called her supervisor, who advised her to speak to Cote about the package he had just taken.

When Nunes went to Cote's apartment to speak with him, she said, he denied taking the package, and Nunes left to call the police. Nunes returned to the building's mail boxes to do so, and Cote followed, presenting the carrier with the now open package, which was missing items. He said another man in his apartment had taken the package and removed the items.

Conetta questioned Cote's friend, who told police that he was inside Cote's apartment when he returned from getting the mail with the package and proceeded to open it and examine the contents. He said he also observed Cote speak with Nunes and lie to her about the package. When Nunes left, he said Cote asked him to take the items, but he refused and left the apartment instead.

Cote was charged with larceny of items less than $500.