A former contract employee with the Bayfield Post Office has pled guilty to mail theft in U.S. District Court in Durango.
Stacey Jepson was indicted on Nov. 13 on three counts of obstruction of the mail and one count of theft of mail. On Feb. 10, she pled guilty to one count of theft or receipt of stolen mail.
The information about the indictment came from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General in Vancouver, Wash.
John Masters, the assistant special agent in charge for the OIG, said he could not discuss the case until Jepson is sentenced.
That is scheduled to take place on June 8 in district court, Masters said.
Jepson had a contract to clean the post office.
"An investigation by the USPS OIG determined Jepson was responsible for the theft and opening of first-class mail, while conducting her official duties at the Bayfield Post Office," according to an email from Masters.
Jepson is no longer a contractor at the post office.
"The USPS OIG considers the theft of mail by any Postal Service employee to be a very serious matter," he wrote. "When these types of allegations are made, the USPS OIG vigorously investigates these matters, as we did in this instance."
Jepson is represented by Robert Pepin, an assistant federal public defender in Denver.
Jepson's plea "is not an unusual resolution to these kinds of charges," he said.
Jepson declined to comment on the case.
