Anonymous
By Jessica
Dear Montecito,
We bring you news. After weeks and months of diligently following public records, one of our Painted Cave neighbors reports the outcome of our mail thief.
After 6-7 episodes of rampant mail theft between November 2017 and March 2018, and the subsequent arrest of the perpetrator, here are the results:
- One charge of: Commit Mail Theft – Misdemeanor
- One charge of Theft: During State of Emergency – Misdemeanor
- One charge of Possession of Controlled Substance – Misdemeanor
Melissa Wheeler pled nolo contendere to the first and third charges. The second charge of Theft During a State of Emergency was dropped. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with four credited for time served, and four days for good behavior. Three years probation.
She has a total of $355 in fees –
- $140 “General Criminal Distribution” (???)
- $175 State Restitution (paid to the State, I assume)
- $20 Court Ops Assessment
- $10 “State Secrty 2nd”
- $10 “State Secrty Fund”
On July 5th there was a “Restitution Hearing”, but we don’t know if anyone actually affected was notified of this.
Apparently, there were no Federal charges filed.
I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s department for acting quickly to catch this thief the last night it occurred.
I would like to express my complete bafflement to the US Postal Inspectors for ignoring this, as well as to the Santa Barbara DA’s office for not treating this as a serious issue, considering it impacted hundreds and hundreds of residents, including those affected both by the fire and the flooding.
We just got our only notice from the Lompoc Sheriff’s department that Painted Cave’s mail was found out there in the beginning of the month, around the same time a neighbor in Painted Cave found their mail box stuffed with ripped open mail from Montecito (June 2). I guess we don’t need to wait for the Autumn/Winter holidays for this to resume.
Our take away from this is – crime absolutely pays, and the laws are arbitrary.
– Your Painted Cave neighbors
Past Articles
March 6, 2018: Sheriff’s Deputies Announce Mail Theft Suspect
March 5, 2018:
That’s very frustrating and unfortunate that the U.S.P.I. and the D.A.’s office didn’t take this seriously. Has anyone else noticed that the D.A.’s office is inconsistent with charging/not charging people for crimes and the wide variety of sentences they receive? If I were a victim of a crime I would be furious. I’d definitely vote for a D.A. who is tougher on criminals.
@MS.JBG The kneejerk reaction to wish for a DA that is “tougher on crime” is completely wrong. We have tried the “tough on crime” approach for decades and it has been a total disaster! We didn’t become the the mass incarceration capital that is reviled by the rest of the modern world by being soft on crime! What we need is a DA who is actually interested in justice and the public’s safety rather than press conferences and belt notches.
Yea, California is so soft on crime – sure, bud. Open your eyes! California alone has more people locked up than the entire prison populations of over 200 countries! We have been making a bit of progress on reforming our broken system, but these are only baby steps. We will need to make some major changes if we actually want to fix our massively unjust, ineffective, and expensive criminal justice system. We’ve failed massively – it has been quite thoroughly proven that enacting harsher laws and doling out more severe punishment won’t make our society safer.
OK, Let’s tell the ACLU to “stick it” and start making Prison a place that you don’t ever want to go to instead of “Gangsta Universities”… Let’s get prisoners on ROAD CREWS and laying concrete and asphalt from 0800-1700 Mon-Fri with bologna sandwiches for lunches… Our State infrastructure and road system is crumbling away…
We have learned through experience that when criminals are in prison the crime rate drops dramatically. That is exactly what happened when the 3 Strikes legislation passed. In 2014 Californians passed Proposition 47 which emasculated most laws – reducing non violent crimes such as most thefts (mail or otherwise) to misdemeanors. The criminals no longer go to jail but are out and able to do it all again. We now get to learn all over again that when the criminals are not in prison that the crime rate rises.
Gee that really sucks that would make me think twice about voting for certain people.
The criminals KNOW that virtually NOTHING happens to them with regard to crimes committed in California, unless bodily harm (assault) is committed during or as a result of the crime…
Welcome to the “New California”.
This is a result of super liberal Assemblymen (women) who rewrite laws and bills, which go through our State legislature and become adopted, which in turn only benefit the criminals and believe me, they KNOW how to use the system. We are all paying for these consequences on a daily basis. Virtually EVERY criminal is released on their own cognisense, and simply given a “citation and notice to appear”… This is the reality folks.
This is one of those “If I stay clean and sober cases” I’ll stay out of jail deals they started when there was another gov. in office had nothing to do with a certain persons favorite scapegoat. Nothing.
Just so it be known, I/we are a huge proponent of restorative justice. This was not it. As I watch the news, both local and national, I have come to the conclusion that the laws really only apply if you have somehow taken from either a corporate interest, or the state – grievous bodily harm excluded. The rest is arbitrary. Our penal system was never meant to ‘correct’ behavior. Regardless, this woman affected so many lives, and of those that were already suffering. To be told that the crimes she committed were Federal offences, and then to be totally discounted as such, is upsetting.
Anger, self centered egoism, my problems are more than anyone else’s, I don’t need to know more than my claim of victimization, I am wronged…. These sort of posts baffle me. Yes, something happened to you and your neighbors, out justice system stepped in and dealt with it effectively. You have no idea beyond your short vision of the other side of this situation. And, by the way, crime in California is no where near the epidemic levels of 30 or so years ago. Our criminal justice system is working pretty well by not heeding cries for vigilantism.
This is very surprising that she got only misdemeanor charges. Our prosecutors should google stealing mail. It is a FEDERAL crime with up to $250,000 and Federal Prison.
Why is she getting her hands slapped? Also, I doubt very much she didn’t have priors.
This was just WRONG!
Where, on anyone’s post was there a reference to ” heeding cries for vigilantism”…???
Please spare everyone from your hysteria.
What does that have to do with the crime? Oh, got it, Dudley. We don’t know what she could have charged. I too am APPALLED by these charges and punishment, don’t get me wrong. But I won’t blame anyone until I’ve researched the law, which I won’t do for fun.
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To strengthen the law:
Contact federal and state legislators; clearly explain the problem; get a legislator on your side, to sponsor revisions or new leg; suggest revisions to current law; suggest new law; shepherd it through legislative bodies; lobby for it; etc…. Yeah, hard work for citizens.
Replying instead of downvoting, on principle: I hope you research some facts and figures re: CA and USA imprisonment. Be politically active if you don’t like what’s happening, but CA is a liberal state and you might be happier elsewhere. Otherwise, you have a lot of hard work to do. It’s not true that “virtually every criminal is released on OR…” And it’s “recognizance.” Bills (legislation) ONLY benefit the criminals?! Ooookay.
Such anger and closed minds!!! Vote down ideas that are uncomfortable or critical of the nastiness being dispersed by the witch hunters. You won’t have to think about your own mean spiritedness. Such bullying works best in a closed circuit of closed minds.