Man & woman plead guilty to mail thefts in Rancho Mirage, get probation
A man and woman pleaded guilty today to felony charges of stealing checks from mailboxes in Rancho Mirage over a nearly five-month period, and were immediately sentenced to two years of probation each.
John Fisher, 38, and Thea Lorraine Rich, 32, pleaded guilty at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to two felony counts of grand theft over $950 and one felony count for a fictitious bill/note, according to court records. Rich also pleaded guilty to two additional felony counts of grand theft over $950.
They both drew two years of formal probation. However, if Fisher violates the terms of his probation, he could be sentenced to up to three years and four months, according to court records.
An investigation into various mail theft incidents between Jan. 20, 2022, and June 17, 2022, led members of the Rancho Mirage Special Enforcement Team to Fisher and Rich, according to Deputy Robert Kelly of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Among the thefts, there were nine victims with an accumulated loss of $17,842.
SET members served a search warrant on the duo and found 46 stolen checks and numerous identity theft-related items in their possession, Kelly said.
