Vallejo man sentenced to 21 months in Napa mail theft case; in 2018, DA declined to charge him in Crockett homicide

SAN FRANCISCO — A Vallejo man who was allegedly caught with stolen mail, as well as debit cards and checks belonging to others, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison Wednesday.

Toriano Collier, 48, apologized during his Wednesday afternoon sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, who noted that federal sentencing guidelines could have put Collier’s prison term at a minimum of three years. But Chen also noted that prosecutors — who wrote in court records Collier deserved credit for pleading guilty early into his case — had recommended the 21-month term

“(Collier) has the ability to be productive, to be a leader…I feel he’s got it in him, on the other hand this is one of the longest criminal records I’ve ever seen,” Chen said.

Collier was on probation on nine different cases in April 2020, when Napa police arrested him in possession of “numerous articles of stolen mail, checks, credit and debit cards, social security cards, drivers’ licenses, and various articles belonging to persons other than Collier,” prosecutors said. It added up to around $54,000 worth of stolen material, authorities said.

Last year, Collier pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possessing stolen mail, court records show.

At his sentencing hearing, Collier requested drug and mental health treatment and said he wants to “turn my life around.”

“I do take full responsibility for my actions. I apologize to the court for my actions…And I beg the court to consider some mental health counseling for myself and drug treatment,” Collier said.

In 2018, Collier was suspected of murdering DeMichael James Gandy-Williams, 30, in a Crockett shooting, but prosecutors declined to file charges against him. Collier was arrested days later after a standoff at a Motel 6 in Fairfield.

According to police statements in court records, witnesses told authorities that Collier had called a “players meeting” at the hotel in which he admitted involvement in the shooting, telling those present that he believed “D-Mack” — Gandy-Williams’ nickname — had stolen his girlfriend’s undergarments. It later turned out she had just misplaced them.