A 42-year-old man accused of mail theft tried to escape arrest by swinging off the 13th floor of his Pearl District apartment onto a stranger’s balcony a floor below, then escaping through that unit, down the stairs and out of the building, a federal prosecutor said.
Postal inspectors found Michael John Peters on Tuesday, a day later, and arrested him on allegations of mail fraud.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Narus described Peters’ alleged crime as an “egregious” mail theft case.
He’s accused of stealing mail from dozens of condominium and apartment complexes in Northwest and Southwest Portland, according to an affidavit unsealed Wednesday.
He was renting the Pearl District apartment for $2,500 a month using a false name when investigators caught him on video stealing mail on 11 occasions between May and late August at different locations in the Portland area, Narus said.
In the unit, investigators found more than 170 postal keys, 15 fake identification cards in his name, about 300 pieces of mail, 15 gift cards and check printers, according to Narus.
Investigators suspect Peters tried to make or counterfeit a special key to open a U.S. Postal Service door for a cluster of mailboxes for housing complexes and office buildings. Two keys were found in a backpack he abandoned at one of the apartment complexes when a security guard confronted him, according to the affidavit.
Among the locations he struck that were caught on video: Arbor Vista Condominiums on Southwest Howards Way, Collins Circle apartment complex on Southwest Columbia Street, McKenzie Lofts on Northwest 12th Avenue, The Sitka Apartments on Northwest 11th Avenue and the Waterfront Pearl condominium complex on Northwest Naito Parkway.
Tihanne Mar-Shall, his assistant federal public defender, was unsuccessful in arguing for Peters’ release pending trial. She urged a judge allow Peters to work at a local Walmart filling online orders and live with his brother.
Narus countered that Peters posed a risk of not returning to court, considering Peters’ recent attempt to escape arrest. He also has prior 2023 convictions in California for possession of others’ identification and in Hawaii for unauthorized possession of confidential personal information.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo denied his release.
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