Two mail thieves arrested after Marion County deputies boxed them in

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the filing of a complaint and arrest of Jordan Jax (23, Newberry) and Tarod Goodman, Jr. (23, Gainesville) for theft of mail and possession of a stolen or reproduced postal key.

If convicted, Jax and Goodman each face up to 5 years in federal prison for theft of mail and up to 10 years imprisonment for possession of the postal key.

According to court documents, between October 2022 and January 24, 2023, Jax and Goodman used a postal key on multiple occasions to access U.S. Postal Service (USPS) collection boxes in Marion County and steal mail.

Deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspector conducted surveillance and caught the pair after they had loaded mail into Jax’s vehicle. Agents also recovered a postal key that had been used to open the collection boxes.

A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, its Aviation Unit, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.