Postal Worker from Warrensburg Caught Stealing Mail

Lightning has struck twice for the United States Postal Service and for the City of Warrensburg. A resident and his girlfriend, both of Warrensburg, involved in mail theft.

Tyrone V. Read Jr., 27, of Warrensburg, plead guilty in federal court on Thursday, May 27, to his role in a conspiracy to steal gift cards from the mail. Read, a former contractor working for the U.S. Postal Service, was employed as a driver for the trucking company that held the contract to transport mail to and from post offices in Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Odessa, and Concordia, Mo.

Read admitted that he stole $1,820 in cash and gift cards from the mail of 30 postal customers between December 1, 2019, and May 6, 2020. Also involved n the conspiracy was his girlfriend, Kerry K. Swisher, 35, of Warrensburg.

Swisher, a co-defendant in the hearing, plead guilty to possessing stolen mail matter, used gift cards to make purchases at various locations for things such as meals, groceries, and gas.

Under federal statutes, Read and Swisher are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole.

In March of 2015, a Warrensburg mail carrier was indicted for stealing thousands of pieces of mail and for stealing money from a cash drawer. David Thompson, 54, was a regular mail carrier for the Warrensburg Post Office. It was alleged that Thompson stole at least 20,000 pieces of mail addressed to more than 5,700 recipients.

According to the story published on a Sedalia Townsquare media site, postal officials had other concerns about Thompson and his performance on his daily mail route:

Thompson was observed on video drinking five to eight beers each day while delivering his route. He allegedly hid the beers in his mail satchel and poured them into a cup, which he kept in his cup holder.