NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A former mail carrier faces up to five years in prison for throwing away mail in a dumpster on Thursday, the Department of Justice said.
Michael Thirkield, 31, of Hampton plead guilty on Thursday to the charge of improperly destroying mail intended to be delivered on his route in Newport News.
Court documents indicate that on Dec. 9, 2023, Thirkield tossed multiple boxes of mail in a dumpster in the Forest Lake Court area of Newport News, and did not report to work that day. He apparently left his USPS satchel on his porch with a note attached reading, "For the mail carrier."
Two days later, a USPS customer service supervisor found the 1,296 pieces of first-class and pre-sorted mail from the dumpster that Thirkield was supposed to deliver on his assigned routes.
Thirkield will be sentenced in February and could face five years in prison, though he will likely be sentenced to less.
