A warrant remained outstanding Monday after one of two Los Angeles residents arrested in May on suspicion of a series of multi-county mail thefts failed to appear in court for the second time.
Mark Huguez, 48, made an initial court appearance on May 28 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, pleading not guilty to a felony count of obtaining personal identifying information with intent to defraud.
He did not appear at a scheduled felony settlement conference on Tuesday, leading to the issuance of a $250,000 bench warrant, according to Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney’s office.
Huguez was not present in court for a second time on Monday, Hayden said, and the warrant remained active.
Sixto Melendez III, 28, also appeared in court for the first time on May 28. After pleading guilty to the same charge later that day, Melendez received a sentence including 24 months of probation and 120 days of custody, according to case records.
Members of the Palm Desert sheriff’s station assigned to the Rancho Mirage Special Enforcement Team stopped a vehicle at 2:10 p.m. on May 23 that was allegedly used to aid mail carrier burglaries in Alhambra, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies searched the vehicle and allegedly found mail belonging to 16 people across multiple counties, in addition to stolen checks, stolen credit cards and burglary tools.
Both were arrested and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center.
Huguez, who has multiple prior felony convictions, is ineligible for probation, according to Riverside County records. Melendez had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.