TACOMA — A seven-day sentence in federal prison has been recommended for a Port Angeles man who pleaded guilty to stealing mail when he was a Sequim postal worker.
Kevin M. Brown, 51, will be sentenced Jan. 18 after pleading guilty Oct. 5 in federal District Court in Tacoma to one felony count of embezzlement of mail by a postal employee, according to court records.
He also must pay restitution to victims from whom numerous items of mail were stolen, including two $200 Walmart gift cards, according to his plea agreement.
“He has clearly accepted responsibility for his offense,” according to the agreement.
“Defendant recognizes the United States has agreed not to prosecute all of the criminal charges the evidence establishes were committed to him solely because of the promises made by him in this agreement,” the document said.
Brown’s attorney, Corey Endo of the federal Public Defenders Office, did not return a call requesting comment Thursday.
Conditions of release
Conditions of Brown’s release on his own recognizance include a requirement that he attend a 12-step program for gamblers; undergo a mental health, psychological or psychiatric evaluation; and follow the treatment recommendations of that evaluation.
Brown could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison and been fined up to $250,000.
Most mail theft cases are misdemeanors, said Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle.
“It is being treated seriously,” she said Thursday.
“Seven days may not seem like much, but seven in a federal prison is significant for someone who has never been in a federal prison.”
Brown began working for the U.S. Postal Service on Jan. 22, 2005, and worked at the Sequim post office from Jan. 20, 2007, to March 15, 2012, as a front counter clerk selling stamps, money orders and other Postal Service items.
“Brown used his position at the Sequim post office to gain access to, embezzle and intentionally steal numerous items from the United States mail,” according to the plea agreement.
He stole gift cards, cash, collectors’ coins “and other items of value,” the plea agreement said.
They included two insured envelopes that each contained $200 Walmart gift cards that he redeemed in Poulsbo, according to the agreement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Andrew Colasurdo prosecuted the case.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
