D.C. postal carrier charged with mail theft

A District postal carrier has been arrested after residents and investigators said they witnessed him tear through mail and discard boxes and envelopes at area trash bins.

Federal agents began to investigate Ronald C. Pretlow in the spring after residents in the Petworth and Brightwood neighborhoods in Northwest Washington complained about missing packages and greeting cards. Most of the residents lived on the delivery route of the 48-year-old Pretlow, prosecutors said.