Missing mail leads to theft-related charges

Man charged after months of mail was undelivered in parts of Digby County

A Bear River man is facing charges after a large quantity of mail was discovered in his home and vehicle during an investigation into non-delivered mail in parts of Digby County.

An investigation was launched after many residents and businesses complained to Canada Post that for months last year their incoming and outgoing mail was not being delivered.

Darryl Snow, 42, of Bear River, has been charged with theft from mail under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime. The charges before the court list an offence date of between Sept. 22 and Nov. 18, 2019.

RCMP say that on Nov. 18, 2019, the Digby RCMP, working with Canada Post inspectors, started an investigation into the disappearance of mail in areas of Digby County.

A search of Snow’s residence was carried out.

Snow was arrested on Jan. 9 after the RCMP reviewed the material and determined what the appropriate charges would be. Although the charges were laid some time ago, the RCMP only announced them in a March 6 media release. Snow is scheduled to appear in Digby provincial court on March 16.

“The investigation was conducted by postal inspectors, who forwarded their information to Digby RCMP,” the RCMP media release reads. “A search of the accused’s residence revealed that he was in possession of a large quantity of mail in his home and vehicle.”

The RCMP said it couldn’t comment on what constituted a “large quantity” of mail, as Canada Post had been responsible for the search and seizure of the mail.

Asked if undelivered mail had been opened given that a charge is theft from mail, as opposed to theft of mail, RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Clarke said, “the wording in the Criminal Code is theft from mail. That’s why I used that word in the release.”

Theft from mail, section 356(1) of the Criminal Code reads: “Everyone commits an offence who steals anything sent by post, after it is deposited at a post office and before it is delivered, or after it is delivered but before it is in the possession of the addressee or of a person who may reasonably be considered to be authorized by the addressee to receive mail.”

Complaints about mail delivery, or lack thereof, were made to Canada Post last year.

When the Tri-County Vanguard had reported on the investigation in early January, one Digby County resident who had reached out to the newsroom had said for months (from around July to October) mail was not being delivered, or mail delivery was delayed, in parts of the county. She said affected areas included parts of several rural route delivery areas, including RR2, RR3 and RR4.

“We had cheques that were sent to us that never arrived, that was back mid-July,” she said, asking her name not be used. “We were very impacted by not receiving cheques for our business and outgoing mail that was never sent – or sent a month after being mailed.”

When a story about the Canada Post and RCMP investigation was posted to Facebook in January, others commented about being impacted. At the time, some people said they still hadn’t received mail that they knew was sent but never delivered, and others confirmed a lack of mail delivery went on for months.

Clarke said anyone who has not yet been in contact with police or with Canada Post about incidents believed to be related to the matter to contact the Digby RCMP detachment at 902-245-2579.

“If additional information is brought to us which indicates additional offences not included in the information that is before the court now, we will proceed with additional charges as appropriate.”

Canada Post says anytime customers have concerns about the delivery of their mail they should contact Canada Post’s Customer Service at 1-800-267-1177. If they witness any suspicious activity relating to mail delivery they are asked to inform law enforcement authorities and Canada Post’s Customer Service immediately.

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