Woman breaks into post office to ‘play house,’ investigators say

A 28-year-old woman faces a federal criminal charge after authorities say she broke into a Spokane Valley post office early Sunday and swiped uniforms and mail from the locked facility. Jackie A. Hayes was booked into Spokane County Jail just after 5:30 a.m. Sunday, four hours after an alarm was triggered at the Veradale Post Office at 15202 E. Sprague Ave. A federal postal services investigator arrived on scene about 45 minutes after the alarm was triggered and spotted Hayes through a window rummaging through posted mail, according to court records. The investigator called Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies, who arrived and unlocked the workroom, announcing their presence. Hayes fled through a cubby hole into the lobby but was apprehended in the parking lot, according to court records. Hayes told deputies she climbed through the cubby into the workroom, which she said looked “like a movie set,” according to court records. She said she was “playing house” with the uniforms and mail and did not intend to steal anything, according to court records. Hayes previously spent time in prison after pleading guilty to theft charges in 2006, according to court records. She faces a mail theft charge and remained in custody of the Spokane County Jail on Monday afternoon. Hayes requested a bail hearing later this week.