A Crawfordsville man is free on bond after being arrested on two counts of theft and one count of receiving stolen property.
According to court documents, Brandon S. Long, 28, of 849 S. Fairway Dr., is scheduled to appear in the Montgomery County Superior Court 1 on Jan. 26, 2009 to face the charges.
Long declined comment Tuesday. Montgomery County Prosecutor Joe Buser said they could not discuss the case. Attempts to contact Defense Attorney Bill Green were unsuccessful.
According to the Affidavit for probable cause, Elden Hartman, Special Agent, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General said that he was contacted by Crawfordsville Postmaster Connie Flick on Nov. 24, regarding a complaint make by Barbara Johnson of Hillsboro. Hartman said that he spoke with Johnson and she reported that she mailed a $125 Kroger's gift card in a greeting card using the collection box located at 1660 Crawfordsville Square Dr. He said that the card was mailed Nov. 7.
In the affidavit, Hartman said that Johnson contacted the Kroger store after her granddaughter did not receive the card. He said that she learned her gift card was used at that store in for transactions between Nov. 9 and Nov. 13. Hartman said that a credit card in the name of Long was used in one of the transactions. The affidavit says that a balance inquiry was made from a cell phone, a cell phone that Hartman later learned belongs to Long.
According to the affidavit, Hartman met with Kroger Manager Marty Merz on or about Dec. 1 and obtained video of the transactions. Hartman says in the affidavit that Long was identified as the person in the video allegedly using the stolen gift cards.
According to the affidavit, there were other complaints before and after Johnson's complaint, each involving birthday cards containing money. Hartman said in the affidavit that the addressed were on mail routes carried by Long on the days the missing cards should have been delivered or collected.
The affidavit says that two greeting card tests were prepared for placement in two collection boxes scheduled for collection by Long. One of the cards contained $5 and a Target gift card. The envelope also contained a hidden transmitter that would emit an alarm signal if the card was opened and the contents were removed.
Hartman said in the affidavit that Long collected the mail from the box at approximately 4:15 p.m., returning to his truck at 4:17 p.m. Hartman said that at 4:18 p.m., shortly after Long pulled away from the curb, the transmitter inside the card sounded the alarm tone.
Hartman, along with Special Agent Rob Townley stopped Long at Advance Auto Store, 189 E. South Blvd. Hartman said in the affidavit that the agents identified themselves, asking Long to step out of his postal truck before advising him of his Miranda Rights.
Hartman said that he saw the opened envelope inside the truck, beside the driver's seat where Long had been sitting. The contents of the envelope were found in a tray of mail in the truck.
Hartman said that after recovering evidence, he and Townley transported Long back to the Crawfordsville Post Office. According to the affidavit, Flick advised Long that he was being placed on indefinite suspension, pending removal for theft of mail. Flick said she was not able to comment on the incidents related to Long.
The Paper of Montgomery County 101 W. Main St. Suite 300 | P.O. Box 272 Crawfordsville, IN 47933 Main: (765) 361-0100 • Classifieds: (765) 361-8888 • Fax: (765) 361-1882
