A federal grand jury for the Southern District of Illinois has returned an indictment charging Tia M. Taylor, 27, of Alton, Illinois, with one count of theft of mail by a postal service employee. The indictment charges that in July 2020, Taylor stole four packages addressed to Godfrey residents from the Godfrey post office, where she worked as a clerk.
The arraignment for Taylor will be held on Oct. 8, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Taylor is the second postal employee charged recently with stealing mail in the Southern District of Illinois. Athens A. Shorey, 33, of Cobden, Illinois, was indicted earlier last month with taking mail from the Carbondale post office back in May.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
The charge against Taylor resulted from a referral and investigation by the United States Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter T. Reed.