A 29-year-old Modesto woman was arrested Sunday morning for mail theft after reports were called in about a suspicious woman in the area of Riesling Way and Columbard Way.

A neighbor called Ceres Police at 6:20 a.m. to report a white female adult, who was later identified as Mary Gress, 29, of Modesto, was walking in the neighborhood stealing mail.

The witness saw Gress carrying two backpacks going house to house opening mailboxes. The witness confronted Gress who grew belligerent. The citizen yelled for other neighbors to call the police and told Gress to sit down and wait for officers. Gress then dropped the backpacks along with some mail and began running southbound on Riesling Way. The witness followed Gress and was able to pin her down after she fell.

Gress had a meth pipe in her bra and a clear plastic bag containing 7.84 grams of crystal meth in her pocket. Officer recovered the stolen mail. Gress admitted stealing mail and said she was in the area looking at mailboxes because she was trying to locate her aunt's house with an address of "2413 Colum." Officers were unable to locate 2413 Columbard Way to see if she had a relative at the address. It appeared Gress had no verifiable purpose for her visit to the neighborhood.

Gress had several arrest warrants for drug possession. She was arrested for the warrants along with mail theft, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.