Thirty separate felony charges were filed in Lewis County Superior Court Friday against the 40-year-old Onalaska woman accused of stealing a substantial amount of mail.
Amber K. Ingram, also known as Amber K. Rushton, returned to Lewis County Superior Court for a preliminary hearing on Friday after being released on $10,000 bail early Thursday morning.
Ingram confirmed Friday that Ingram, not Rushton, is her current legal name.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed 30 charges against Ingram Friday afternoon: one count of first-degree possession of stolen property, 16 counts of possession of stolen mail and 13 counts of second-degree identity theft.
Each charge is considered a class C felony, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The charges stem from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office’s search of Ingram’s car on Jan. 7 and its search of Ingram’s Onalaska residence on Jan. 11 that yielded a significant amount of stolen mail.
Sheriff’s office personnel found over 315 pieces of stolen mail in Ingram’s car and 17 to 19 garbage bags full of stolen mail in Ingram’s house, as well as a box of stolen license plates with attached registration.
Over 100 checks and approximately 60 credit cards were recovered from the mail found in Ingram’s vehicle, according to court documents.
As of Friday, detectives and evidence personnel were still sorting through the large amount of recovered mail and trying to make contact with the rightful owner of each piece of mail.
Lewis County residents who have recently had mail stolen are encouraged to contact the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 360-748-9286 to be added to the victim’s list and help expedite the process of returning the stolen mail.
Because Ingram was present for her Friday hearing after posting bail earlier that week, all parties agreed to allow Ingram to remain out of custody on the posted $10,000 bail as long as she maintains her conditions of release.
Those conditions include being present in court for all mandatory hearings and not committing any crimes.
Her arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 19.
Previous coverage with additional background information can be found here: https://www.chronline.com/stories/search-of-onalaska-womans-residence-reveals-even-more-stolen-mail-after-arrest,307123
