Contracted postman allegedly stole check from greeting card – St George News

Composite image with overlaid photo of Springdale police vehicles taken in Washington County, Utah, circa 2018 | Photo courtesy of Springdale Police Department, St. George News

A 20-year-old accused of depositing a stolen check was arrested last week after a local resident called police to report that a card sent to a relative had been found on the side of the road, but the enclosed check had disappeared.

The arrest stems from an incident that was initially reported as a 911 hang-up call that prompted officers to rush to a residence on Main Street in Rockville shortly after 9 a.m. on Aug. 13, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

When emergency responders arrived, they found an elderly man who had called the emergency services to report a mail theft. The caller told police he sent a card with an enclosed check for $100 to a relative on July 22, and a few days later they found the card and opened envelope on the side of the road in Rockville.

“The envelope contained the card but not the check,” the officer noted in the report.

The complainant further explained to investigators that when he contacted the bank to inquire whether the check had cleared, he learned, using a mobile application, that the check had cleared on July 23, one day after the card was mailed. The caller also learned that the signature on the check was illegible, except for the first name, “Xander,” and the first and last letters of the last name, which began with a “B” and ended with a “D,” according to the report.

The bank was unable to clearly determine the last name “due to the handwriting,” the report states.

The complainant contacted the Springdale post office and spoke with a supervisor who said there was a driver with the first name “Xander.” When officers arrived at the post office, they found the suspect, later identified as 20-year-old Xander Blaine Bennefeld of Cedar City. Officers noticed that the suspect's last name matched the limited information provided by the bank.

While speaking with police, the suspect allegedly told officers he was a contract worker assigned to pick up and deliver mail for the Springdale Post Office. When asked, the report states, the suspect said he was unaware that any cards had been opened.

He also denied cashing a $100 check and repeatedly told officers he never opened mail. When asked how the bank got his first name and part of his last name, the officer replied that Bennefeld did not know. However, the suspect's mobile bank statement showed that a deposit of $100 was made to the suspect's account on July 23 using a mobile application, which matched the information provided by the victim's bank.

When the officer pointed out the deposit, the suspect denied having made such a transaction and said he had no idea where the transaction could have come from. When the officer asked further questions, he added that he was the only one who had access to the account.

He later said that a family member sometimes deposits money into his account, but officials could not find any other deposits that matched the amount and date of the mobile check deposit.

Investigators also found that Bennefeld had worked the day the card was mailed and the following day when the mobile deposit was made. This information was later confirmed by a supervisor at the post office, who said the suspect “would have been responsible for picking up mail on those days.”

It should be noted, the official wrote, that Bennefeld “could not provide any reason why his name should have been on a check that had not been delivered to him.”

Police were provided with a copy of the canceled check, which had the suspect's first and last name written in different handwriting. Later that afternoon, the suspect was arrested and taken to jail on charges of third-degree forgery and mail theft.

St. George News contacted Springdale Police Officer Britt Ballard, who said the suspect was employed as a contract employee and was taking mail from one post office to another, as Springdale, Rockville and Virgin and other small towns do not have mail carriers that deliver mail to private mailboxes. Instead, he said, they deliver mail to the post office, where the mail is sorted into mailboxes and picked up by the customer. The same is true for outgoing mail, which is dropped off at the post office for delivery.

He said the suspect was a part-time employee who worked on the days in question. Although the card was mailed from the Springdale post office, it is still unclear how the evidence got to Rockville.

After his arrest, bail was set at $2,500 and on August 19, Bennefeld was formally arraigned on the two charges. His first appearance in 5th District Court in St. George is scheduled for Friday.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, individuals and companies, now commonly referred to as contractors, have been transporting mail between postal facilities for more than 120 years. Since 1990, the number of delivery locations served by contract couriers has increased from 1.8 million to nearly 2.7 million. Although contract couriers are not employees of the postal service, these independent contractors provide delivery on certain routes not served by urban or rural couriers.

Postal service contract applicants must, among other things, have a clean driving record, a clean drug test and a flawless background check in order to be employed by one of the many Subcontractors which supply these carriers.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other law enforcement agencies and may not contain the full extent of the findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or until a trial judge determines otherwise.

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