'Hundreds of potential victims' — Two Anchorage residents charged with dozens of counts of mail theft

Two Anchorage residents were arrested in Soldotna, charged with more than 100 counts relating to mail theft after an off-duty Alaska State Trooper spotted a male tampering with mailboxes in the area early Thursday morning.

According to AST, just before 2:45 Thursday morning, Troopers contacted a male, identified as 33-year-old Earnest Linton of Anchorage, after an off-duty Trooper spotted him tampering with mailboxes.

Troopers also made contact with a female passenger in the car Linton was driving, 29-year-old Shannon Calvo of Anchorage.

AST says Linton and Calvo were found to be in possession of "a significant amount of open mail, including numerous documents containing sensitive financial information."

Both were also found to be in possession of drugs, and the vehicle the two were in was found to have misused registration.

Calvo was arrested and remanded to Wildwood Pretrial on charges including 16 counts of theft, 44 counts of opening or publishing contents of sealed letters, criminal impersonation, fraudulent use of an access device, obtaining an access device by fraudulent means, forgery, improper use of evidence of registration, violating conditions of release, promoting contraband, and misconduct involving controlled substances.

Troopers say once remanded to Wildwood, Calvo was found to be in possession of additional controlled substances.

Linton was also remanded to Wildwood Pretrial on 65 charges, including theft, 43 counts of opening or publishing contents of sealed letters, obtaining an access device by fraudulent means, improper use of evidence of registration, and misconduct involving controlled substances.

During the preliminary investigation, Troopers say a significant amount of mail, credit cards, financial instruments, sensitive documents and an altered written financial instrument were located in the vehicle.

Troopers say they are working with the U.S. Postal Service to identify and notify potential victims, which they say number in the hundreds in several different cities.