Mail Theft in La Quinta Leads to Arrest

Coachella resident nabbed in connection with mail theft

LA QUINTA — Chila Espinoza, a 31-year-old resident of Coachella, was arrested for several mail theft incidents and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center, Sgt. Jamie Lewis reported.

Additional charges will be sought pending further investigation into the stolen property.

On Friday, July 14, La Quinta Special Enforcement Team deputies served a theft-related search warrant at the 53000 block of Avenida Villa in connection to a series of mail thefts in the community of La Quinta.

During the service of the search warrant, deputies located multiple pieces of stolen mail.

USPS told Reuters that there have been more than 25,000 reported thefts from mail receptacles including blue collection boxes in the six months ending March 30 compared with 38,500 for all of 2022.

Under United States Code 18 Section 1708, stealing federal mail is a felony. If you are charged with stealing mail, you could face up to five years in federal prison and fines of up to $250,000.

Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to call Deputy Chris Williams at the Thermal Sheriff’s Station by calling (760)863–8990 or Crime Stoppers at (760)341-STOP (7867).