Accused mail theft ringleader's bond reduced

The bond for a Post Falls man, who faces 70 felony charges and is accused of being the ringleader in a regional mail theft case, was reduced this week as the case moves closer to a probable cause hearing.

The bond for David T. Perry, 34, was reduced from $500,000 to $390,000 at a hearing in First District Court, at the request of defense attorney Sean P. Walsh.

Walsh asked Judge Patrick McFadden to reduce the bond, arguing it was excessive and punitive because his client had no way of posting such a high bond. Walsh said the burden of the $500,000 bond — defendants usually pay bail bondsmen 10 percent to post bail — fell under the due process provision which calls for fair treatment.

McFadden reduced the bond amount for one of Perry’s three cases, but left in place bonds in the amount of $40,000 for two additional cases tied to the mail theft investigation.

Perry is accused of heading a mail theft ring involving more than 400 residents from Athol to Cataldo, and may have been responsible for the theft of more than $50,000 in stolen merchandise, checks, credit cards, titles and packages.

Four other suspects tied to the case pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, grand theft and forgery.

According to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Perry was responsible for a rash of thefts throughout North Idaho, although the bulk of the thefts allegedly occurred in the Hauser and Athol areas. Perry allegedly stole mail from mailboxes, and burglarized homes and properties, stealing checks, forging them, and cashing them at banks throughout the area.

Police seized forging equipment, computers and a stolen Ruger 9mm handgun when they served a search warrant in January at his home on the 300 block of Douglas Court in Post Falls.

According to investigators’ reports, Perry had recently applied for credit cards using the names and personal information from people whose storage units he had burglarized.

SWAT team members, postal service investigators and Post Falls police retrieved evidence from a safe seized in a fireplace, covered with burned debris, while serving the warrant at Perry’s home.

Perry has previous felony convictions, deputies said, and he was found guilty in First District Court in 2008 of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Perry faces 65 charges of theft, one charge of grand theft, three burglary charges and one charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Perry was arrested April 24 and is in the Kootenai County jail.

A status conference on the burglary, grand theft and weapons charges is set next week, and a May 23 preliminary hearing has been scheduled.