FRANKLIN, Ind. — A former U.S. Postal Service employee in Franklin has been charged with official misconduct after he reportedly looked through, and took items from, people’s mail in October 2023.
According to documents, filed earlier this month in Johnson County, 36-year-old Justin Gast, a former sales and service/distribution associate for the U.S. Postal Service, was officially charged with one count of official misconduct, a Level 6 felony, and nine misdemeanor counts of theft.
In October 2023, officials with the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General were notified that Gast had reportedly been seen “rifling through mail and throwing it in the garbage” at a McDonald’s location in Franklin.
The person who reportedly saw Gast told investigators that he watched Gast open a stack of mail. At one time, the witness saw Gast find something in a piece of mail and place it into his pocket. The witness said he reportedly saw Gast tear the mail in half, place it in a McDonald’s bag and place it in the trash.
The documents said the witness reportedly took the mail out of the trash and followed Gast to the Franklin Post Office. The witness then spoke with the postmaster and pointed Gast out to him.
Officials later used surveillance video from the McDonald’s location that reportedly showed the incident involving Gast occur. Officials said 11 pieces of mail were reportedly in the McDonald’s bag and none were addressed to or from Gast.
“Gast exerted unauthorized control over the property of these individuals by taking it off USPS property, opening the pieces of mail then discarding the mail in the trash at the McDonald’s,” the court documents said.
An initial hearing for this case is scheduled for April 18, according to court documents.
