Two Chicago men were charged with 12 felonies after prosecutors allege they fraudulently cashed more than $424,000 in checks they stole from Outagamie County businesses in 2022 and 2023.
The men were previously charged in similar crimes that occurred in Brown, Manitowoc and Winnebago counties.
Here’s what to know about the case.
Who is charged?
Dionta Bratcher, 31, and Derrell Edwards, 31, both of Chicago.
What are the charges?
Bratcher and Edwards are charged in Outagamie County with:
What happened?
According to a criminal complaint:
Bratcher convicted, sentenced in three other counties
On Feb. 9, 2023, four days after the traffic stop, Bratcher was charged in Manitowoc County with 18 counts of theft of movable property less than or equal to $2,500 as a party to a crime and possession of THC, both misdemeanors.
Bratcher pleaded no contest to three of the mail theft charges June 13, 2023, and the rest of the charges against him were dismissed. He was sentenced the same day to six months in jail.
On Feb. 10, 2023, Bratcher was charged in Brown County with five counts of identity theft to obtain money or credit as party to a crime, a felony. On Aug. 2, 2023, the Brown County District Attorney’s Office charged Bratcher with an additional seven counts of the same identity theft charge.
Those charges represented 12 checks sent to or from Brown County businesses that were seized during the Manitowoc traffic stop, according to criminal complaints. The 12 checks totaled $11,738.58.
Through a plea agreement that resolved both cases, Bratcher pleaded no contest Feb. 29, 2024, to seven of the 12 total charges; the rest were dismissed. He was sentenced April 22, 2024, to two years in prison followed by three years on extended supervision and ordered to pay restitution.
In July 2023, Bratcher was also charged in Winnebago County with theft of 10 to 29 pieces of mail, a felony. One week after his sentencing in Brown County, Bratcher pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to 1½ years in prison followed by two years on extended supervision.
The Winnebago County sentence was run concurrently to Bratcher’s Brown County sentence, meaning he only had to serve a total of two years in prison and three years on extended supervision between the two cases.
Bratcher has served his prison sentence and was released onto extended supervision Feb. 7, 2025, according to state records. He was charged in Outagamie County April 20.
Edwards allegedly cut off probation GPS monitor
Edwards faced many of the same charges as Bratcher following the traffic stop:
On Aug. 25, 2023, Edwards pleaded guilty to three of the theft charges and one of the THC charges in Manitowoc County. He was sentenced the same day to 90 days in jail.
On Sept. 19, 2023, Edwards pleaded no contest to seven of the 12 total identity theft charges he faced in Brown County. A little over a week later, he was sentenced to a total of three years on probation with two years of conditional jail time.
Edwards was placed on Brown County’s Electronic Monitoring Program on Oct. 26, 2023, according to a criminal complaint. The program allows jail inmates to serve their sentences from home and requires the person be placed on a GPS monitoring device.
On Nov. 29, 2023, a Brown County deputy noticed Edwards’ GPS had a strap tamper alert, which indicates that the GPS monitor attached to an inmate’s ankle has been removed, the complaint said. Several attempts to contact Edwards at his home and by phone were unsuccessful.
After an hour of trying to call Edwards, the deputy said the phone message changed from Edwards’ voicemail to a message saying the phone was out of service, the complaint said.
Edwards was charged in Brown County Dec. 7, 2023, with escaping criminal arrest, a felony, and criminal damage to property, a misdemeanor. A warrant was issued for his arrest and remains open as of April 28.
Edwards’ Winnebago County case was still open when he allegedly cut off his GPS monitor, court records show. An arrest warrant was issued after Edwards missed a plea and sentencing hearing in January 2024, but the warrant was quashed April 21 after prosecutors dismissed the mail theft charge he faced.
Edwards was charged with the new Outagamie County charges April 23, and an arrest warrant has also been issued in that case.
What’s next?
Bratcher is scheduled to make his initial appearance in Outagamie County court May 21. He remains on extended supervision from his Brown County sentence.
If convicted of all charges, Bratcher and Edwards each face up to 51½ years in prison.
Vivian Barrett is the public safety reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach her at vmbarrett@usatodayco.com or (920) 431-8314.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Two Chicago men charged with mail theft allegedly stole over $424,000
Reporting by Vivian Barrett, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Appleton Post-Crescent
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