On January 18, 2023, at approximately 1:20 p.m. the Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a suspicious vehicle in the area of Schaeffer Road and Manassas Lane, Long Grove.  The caller reported the person in the vehicle was lingering around several mailboxes.  Sheriff’s deputies responded and checked the area, however, the vehicle was gone before their arrival.  Later in the day, at approximately 4:15 p.m., another call was received about the same suspicious vehicle and person, again lingering around the mailboxes.  The caller was concerned as she was aware of prior mail thefts in the area.

The second caller was able to obtain a license plate of the vehicle and relayed that information to sheriff’s telecommunicators.  The sheriff’s deputy assigned to Long Grove responded and located the vehicle in the area of Bridgewater Lane and Gettysburg Road.  The sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and spoke to the driver, Gabriella Pollari, 44, of the 1300 block of Bridgewater Lane, Long Grove.  While speaking to the driver, the sheriff’s deputy observed drug paraphernalia and drugs in Pollari’s vehicle.  

Pollari was arrested and her vehicle was searched.  The sheriff’s deputy located mail and packages in Pollari’s vehicle belonging to numerous victims who live in the area.  This mail contained very sensitive information such as social security numbers, tax documents, checks, and more.

Pollari was arrested and subsequently charged with:

Identity Theft (Class 3 Felony)

Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance – Cocaine (Class 4 Felony)

Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Misdemeanor)

Additional charges are possible. 

Sheriff John D. Idleburg said, “The community plays a significant role in reporting crimes and suspicious activity.  Thanks to this alert member of the community calling us to report what they saw, and our deputies working hard to locate the vehicle, we were able to arrest this person stealing other people’s mail.  Great job to everyone involved.”

The U.S. Postal Police have been contacted and are also investigating.

Residents in this area missing mail should contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Pollari remains held in the Lake County Jail pending an initial court hearing this morning.

All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.