GUAM (VDN) — A 36-year-old man has been sentenced in federal court after admitting to a break-in at the Tamuning post office and stealing mail, including packages and tubs of letters.
Matthew John Briola Sablan was handed an 18-month prison sentence by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, followed by three years of supervised release. He will serve his time at a federal correctional institution in Oregon and was credited for nearly six months already spent in custody.
Sablan pleaded guilty in April, confessing that he forcibly entered the secure mail sorting area of the post office. Surveillance footage from the night of the burglary showed Sablan wearing pink shorts and a black hoodie, with a distinctive tattoo on his leg. He was arrested the same day in matching attire.
During sentencing, prosecutors argued that Sablan’s actions went beyond burglary, accusing him of targeting mailboxes for personal information and attempting identity theft. However, the defense contended these claims exceeded the scope of the plea agreement.
Although Sablan is facing other cases in the Guam Superior Court, this federal sentence pertains solely to the post office burglary and mail theft.
