Tacoma man indicted in string of Puget Sound post office burglaries
Three people from the South Sound region are facing federal charges for a post office burglary scheme, including a man from Tacoma, U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd announced Wednesday.
A federal grand jury indicted 36-year-old Justin Tate of Tacoma, 58-year-old Gregory Foster of Port Orchard and 37-year-old Paula Gamboa of Federal Way in May this year.
Tate was sentenced Tuesday in Kitsap County for an unrelated crime and transferred to federal custody, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He pleaded not guilty in federal court to counts of conspiracy, burglary of a U.S. post office, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to case documents. His trial is date is set for Feb. 3, 2026.
Tate is accused of leading a crew to burglarize post offices in Kitsap, Thurston, Pierce, King and Island counties, according to the indictment. He would use personal financial information obtained from victims’ stolen mail to commit bank fraud, the indictment alleges.
The group’s alleged activities in Pierce County include Tate and Gamboa stealing mail from post boxes at Fox Island Post Office on July 9, 2024. A few days later on July 15, Foster allegedly broke a window to enter the Anderson Island Contract Post Office and steal $3,000 in stamps, $100 in cash and about 100 postal money orders.
According to the news release, Tate opened a bank account using one of the victim’s names and attempted to transfer over $3,500 for his own use. He also attempted to deposit over $13,000 in fraudulent checks and ran up $7,200 in point-of-sale charges using a stolen debit card, the release states.
