Amarillo, TX – A judge has sentenced a former Dumas postal employee to more than a year in federal prison after he admitted to stealing more than 300 pieces of mail to support his synthetic marijuana habit.
U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson sentenced Manuel Angel Holguin, 21, to 13 months in federal prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to theft of mail last year in Amarillo’s U.S. District Court. Holguin also was ordered to pay more than $1,400 in restitution.
On Aug. 12, a special agent with the U.S. Postal Service received information regarding first-class mail that had been rifled through.
On Aug. 20, federal agents conducted a surveillance operation targeting Holguin’s route that included monitoring Holguin on his route and two of his deliveries, according to federal court records.
Holguin told investigators he targeted greeting cards and was stealing gift cards or cash from the cards to support his addiction to K-2, a synthetic form of marijuana.
Holguin also agreed to a search of his personal vehicle, and a federal agent found 349 pieces of mail, some of which dated back to April.