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Three Arrested in Plumas Lake Mail Thefts


On 3/8/2021 at approximately 5:30 a.m.,  a Yuba County Deputy on Patrol in Plumas Lake located and subsequently arrested three suspects that were in possession of stolen property reportedly taken overnight from various neighborhood mailboxes in the Plumas Lake area. Arrested for Burglary, Possession of Stolen Property and Identity Theft were Joshua Collins age 33, Sean Smiley age 26, and Samuel Smiley age 30, of Oroville. Additionally Collins had an active warrant in Butte County for a parole violation.

The patrol deputy contacted the three men in a red 2008 Nissan Altima in the 1700 block of Stinson Way in Plumas Lake. The driver of the vehicle was unlicensed and the story they provided as to what they were doing in the area was suspicious to the deputy. Ultimately, during an inventory search of the vehicle prior to impoundment, dozens of items of suspected stolen property were located in the car and later confirmed stolen from several cluster mailboxes throughout the Plumas Lake community. The investigation remains open and ongoing while deputies continue to locate victims and confirm property ownership of the multiple suspected stolen items located in the suspects’ vehicle.

Yuba County Sheriff has reported the incidents to the United States Postal Inspectors. Anyone with further information about this crime is encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 530-749-7777.

Collins was transferred to the custody of Butte County, and both Sean and Samuel Smiley were released with future court dates on charges of Penal Code sections 459, 496, and 530.5. 

Case #21-000940