By Carlotta Mohamed
KEW GARDENS — A Bronx man who attempted to steal mail from a U.S. Postal Service mailbox in Woodhaven was sentenced to jail last week, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Orbik Gutierrez, 21, of Valentine Street, was sentenced to 11 months in jail by Queens Criminal Court Judge Michelle Johnson last Friday after pleading guilty to criminal trespass for “fishing” in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox on March 29, 2017, according to the DA’s office.
“When residents place their mail — envelopes containing checks and sometimes cash — into mailboxes, they have an expectation that the blue boxes are secure,” said Brown. “This defendant, however, found a way to swipe mail from this box using a makeshift “fishing” rod. The defendant was observed by law enforcement officers pulling mail out of the blue mailbox and was arrested.”
According to Brown, Orbik was observed by law enforcement placing something within a blue mailbox outside the Forest Parkway Post Office in Woodhaven at approximately 1 a.m. on March 29, 2017. Orbik then walked away from the box and returned moments later appearing to be removing something from the mailbox.
The incident was caught on surveillance video, which showed Gutierrez pulling a string attached to a bottle. The bottle had a sticky substance on it and several pieces of mail were stuck to the bottle, said Brown.
“Orbik will be incarcerated as a result of his criminal acts,” said Brown.
— Carlotta Mohamed
