Trial Ordered for Men Identified by Mail Carrier

Three men accused of a Belmont home before an alert mailman intervened will stand trial for first-degree burglary and receiving stolen property.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge James Ellis heard testimony from four prosecution witnesses yesterday before ruling evidence was plentiful enough to proceed against Belmont resident Tele Kalafi Matangi, 22, and East Palo Alto residents Tavasa Kipiloti Pale and Erik Cabrera Palomares, both 18.

The men were spotted by a mail carrier shortly before 2 p.m. on July 18 loitering near a home in the 400 block of Yorkshire Way, police said. The carrier knew the residents were unlikely to be home during the day, and saw the backyard gate was open and the dog had been let out.

The carrier notified Belmont police, who allegedly found them nearby with two bags of property stolen from the home.

The men remain in custody. Bail was set at $100,000 for Matangi and $50,000 for Pale and Palomares.

A burglary conviction can result in a prison term of up to six years; the second charge, up to one year in prison or the county jail.