A woman has been charged with stealing checks from mailboxes, altering and cashing nearly a half-million dollars’ worth.
A car stopped for speeding on Colesville Road in Silver Spring turned out to hold a portable check fraud operation.
Hundreds of business and personal checks belonging to different people, thousands in cash, a printer and blank check printing paper were found in the Chrysler 200 in February 2022.
The court documents also list two other items: a U.S. Postal Service Mail carrier’s bag and hat. Those things, said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, made their criminal actions go almost unnoticed.
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“They would’ve seen what would’ve looked like an insignia that this was a U.S. postal worker doing their job, working hard for us at 9:30 at night,” he said. “In fact, what they were doing was emptying out a mailbox.”
McCarthy said the car’s contents helped craft a case in a frustrating series of crimes that began in Fall of 2020.
Bethesda and Silver Spring experienced a large amount of mail thefts.
Suspects obtained from Postal Service letter carriers — through force in some cases — what are known as “arrow keys.” They’d gain entry into blue mailboxes late at night. Stolen checks were altered, deposited and immediately withdrawn for cash.
Terri Tolliver with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is also involved in the investigation, urges caution with the blue boxes while security continues to be upgraded.
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“If you have the opportunity, take it into the post office,” Tolliver said. “If you can’t get to the post office, we have men and women letter carriers in your neighborhood. Hand that important mail directly to the letter carrier, and they’ll make sure that it gets safely to its destination.
As part of the investigation, police contacted the owners of all the checks found, telling them that money they thought they were sending to pay a utility bill or to a grandchild, ended up in the hands of thieves.
The judges ruled in favor of local officials who sought to force the federal government to keep the SNAP program running in November.
Volunteers, many of whom use the food bank, hand out food to clients at the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s Northeast Emergency Food Program in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.
Eli Imadali / OPB
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Two federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to use emergency reserve money to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program amid the ongoing federal shutdown. But Oregon and Washington SNAP recipients expecting to get benefits the first week of November could still see a delay.
Judges order the Trump administration to use contingency funds for SNAP payments during the shutdown
Judge John J. McConnell of Rhode Island directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use contingency funding appropriated by Congress to fund the food stamp program, which helps more than 757,000 Oregonians and more than 905,000 Washington residents buy groceries.
McConnell ordered the federal government to “ distribute the contingency money timely or as soon as possible for the Nov. 1 payments to be made,” as reported by the New York Times.
In a second ruling from Boston, a judge said the federal government would have to use an equitable approach to reducing benefits if it did not have the funds to fully pay for SNAP.
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A spokesperson for Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek did not have an immediate comment and referred questions to the Oregon Department of Human Services, which helps administer the program. A spokesperson for that agency did not immediately respond to a text message.
Oregon contracts with a third-party processor to make benefits payments, and in interviews before Friday’s court rulings, state officials told OPB that means quick changes to SNAP payment plans could overwhelm its systems.
“Due to the unprecedented and complex nature of this situation, ODHS’ EBT vendor that distributes federal SNAP money has not been able to give us a concrete timeline regarding the post-shutdown November SNAP issuance,” an Oregon Department of Human Services spokesperson said.
The Rhode Island federal court order to continue payments came one day before federal funding for the SNAP program was set to run out.
That would have left millions of Americans without the benefits they rely on to put food on their tables. Congress has yet to pass a short-term spending bill to fund programs like SNAP, and the Trump administration said it would not use contingency funds to pay for food assistance.
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In Oregon, more than half of SNAP recipients are seniors, children and people with disabilities.
This is a breaking story. Watch for updates.
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A third teenager has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of a University of Massachusetts student who was working as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C. this summer.
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts, was an innocent bystander when he was shot four times near the convention center in Washington on June 30. Investigators say three armed suspects exited a stolen vehicle and began firing shots at two young men.
Tarpinian-Jachym was rushed to the hospital where he died the next day. Five other people were assaulted or injured in the incident, prosecutors said.
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On Wednesday night, 18-year-old Naqwan Antonio Lucas of the District of Columbia, was arrested in Montgomery Village, Maryland and charged in Tarpinian-Jachym’s murder.
Last month, 17-year-old Kelvin Thomas, Jr. and Naqwan Lucas’ brother, 17-year-old Jailen Lucas, were arrested and charged as adults on counts of first-degree murder while armed in connection with Tarpinian-Jachym’s murder.
Tarpinian-Jachym was a rising senior at UMass Amherst and was spending the summer in Washington as a congressional intern for Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican from Kansas.
Naqwan Lucas pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday afternoon. He is being held until a status hearing with his co-defendants on November 7.
Naqwan Lucas was also charged in the July 4 murder of 17-year-old Zoey Kelley, who was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in a bedroom closet of an apartment in Washington, D.C.
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Last week, the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI announced a $75,000 reward for information leading to Lucas’ arrest.
The 1-2 Washington Wizards are taking on the red hot, 3-0 Philadelphia 76ers. Though early in the season, Philadelphia looks like one of the teams to beat in the eastern conference — even more impressive considering their banged up roster.
Joel Embiid, Paul George and Jared McCain have all missed time thus far this season. McCain will remain out for the foreseeable future, but George and Embiids’ status remains up in the air. Despite the 76ers seemingly being a daunting opponent, there are still a few things that the Wizards can do in order to pull out the win.
Much like the last game, the Wizards are matched up with a 76ers team who is on the tail end of a back-to-back. Washington did come out hot last game, jumping out to an early lead. However, they didn’t sustain that pace throughout the course of the game, allowing the Charlotte Hornets to take over down the stretch. Washington has proven to have the ball handlers and depth necessary to sustain a high pace over the course of a game, its up to them to execute it.
Oct 26, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum (3) attempts a shot in front of Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
With the 76ers stacked roster, it will be inherently difficult for the Wizards to slow down their momentum. Between Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe, the Wizards quite the handful. Because of this, Washington will be forced to focus on one or two players in order to have success. Its difficult to eliminate players of their caliber from games, especially considering the Wizards lack of perimeter defense.
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However, Washington’s best bet would be to try and overwhelm Embiid and Edgecombe. Embiid is well past him prime years and lingering lower body injuries have really slowed him down. As a result, the Wizards pace of play coupled with consistent physical play could effectively remove him from the game. Edgecombe is of course a rookie, allowing Washington to possibly exploit his lack of experience.
Oct 26, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) attempts a jump shot over Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) and forward Tidjane Salaun (31) during the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
The one thing that has held consistent for Washington over the course of this season is the offense. Their offense is the base for all of their success and has kept them in every game this season. Philadelphia will undoubtedly have a high powered offense versus the Wizards lack-luster defense, so as a result, Washington will have to get their offense rolling early on in order to keep up.
Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson have brought the heat night in and night out, but Washington will have to get some other guys going in order to keep up. Look for CJ McCollum or Bub Carrington to break out of the slumps they have been in, having their first big games of the season.
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