At least 300 gubernatorial recall ballots headed to L.A. County addresses have been recovered by Torrance police.
Officers found the ballots in the back seat of a vehicle loaded with firearms, drugs, reportedly stolen driver’s licenses and credit cards, a police official told The Long Beach Press-Telegram on Monday.
Officers were dispatched to a 7-Eleven convenience store on Emerald Street in Torrance at around 10:45 p.m. on Aug. 16. They were called to the scene to check on the condition of a man who appeared to be passed out in the driver’s seat of his car.
The man, a felon, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm, narcotics and stolen property, as well as identity theft. The suspect’s motive for stealing ballots was not immediately clear.
Torrance police Sgt. Mark Ponegalek said the ballots did not appear to have been tampered with, and were believed to have been stolen prior to arriving at the addresses of their intended recipients. There were multiple unrelated pieces of mail found mixed in with the ballots.
The Press-Telegram reported that most of the ballots remained sealed and were addressed to voters in Lawndale and Compton. Ponegalek said investigators were still determining how and where the suspect acquired the stolen mail.
The ballots were being held in the Torrance Police Department's evidence room as of Monday. The department has informed L.A. County election officials that it will return the ballots to voters.
Mail theft under the California Penal Code is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Mail theft may be charged simultaneously in federal court, where sentences can include up to five years in prison and fines as high as $250,000.
An investigation is ongoing. This story will be updated with new information as it is received.
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