It’s usually not smart to return to the scene of the crime – especially when the city where the crime took place has license plate readers and law enforcements knows you’re in town the moment you arrive.

Three parolees learned this the hard way on Christmas morning when they were stopped by Lathrop Police officers after the city’s license plate reader system pinged the vehicle they were in as one that had been involved in mail theft in the recent past.

When officers tracked down the vehicle, they learned that the three occupants inside were parolees on post release community supervision – which gave them the ability to search the vehicle.

And that search proved to be fruitful.

According to the Lathrop Police, officers recovered two handguns, a cache of ammunition, drug paraphernalia, United States Postal Service mailbox keys, stolen mail, and a prybar – all of which resulted in additional felony charges for the three occupants inside of the vehicle.

“The Lathrop Police Department uses a sophisticated system of license plate readers and surveillance cameras to locate vehicles used in crimes,” the agency wrote in a statement announcing the release. “The Lathrop Police Department is determined to utilize all our resources to address theft in our community. We will continue to investigate these crimes and make arrests when suspects are identified.”

Mail thieves have been much more active in Lathrop in the last several weeks – like due to the fact that packages and envelopes commonly containing cash or gift cards are routinely sent through the mail, making community mailboxes ripe targets for thieves looking for quick cash or something that they can flip.

Lathrop Police busted a mail thief just before Christmas that had dozens of packages in their possession that Lathrop officers were able to hand deliver to residents so that they could have their packages before the holiday.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com.