Frequent felon ‘Strollin’ Nolan’ receives 4-year sentence for 2013 mail theft

Fred Nolan, the Spokane frequent felon who has been convicted of dozens of property crimes and earned the nickname “Strollin’ Nolan” for a brazen escape from police custody, received a four-year sentence for stealing two bags of mail in May 2013.

U.S. District Court Judge Lonny Suko handed down the sentence Tuesday in Spokane, after Nolan, 46, pleaded guilty in July to stealing two bags of mail from the Flour Mill downtown. Nolan has been in custody since May 30, 2013, and received credit for time served, meaning he’s scheduled for release in 11 months.

Nolan was captured on security camera prying open a lock to the central mail room on the third floor of the Flour Mill, which houses multiple businesses, according to court records. Spokane police detectives also linked Nolan to the mail theft by fingerprints discovered on pieces of mail addressed to the Flour Mill that were discovered at the scene of another of Nolan’s burglaries a few days later, according to court records.

Nolan’s sentencing was twice delayed because of concerns over mental health records and his lack of access to medication, according to court records.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Baunsgard, who prosecuted the case, wrote that Nolan’s criminal conduct began at age 18. He has at least 38 previous felony convictions.

“Frankly, the State of Washington is frustrated with the Defendant – and has used all the tools available to them to attempt to correct his actions,” she wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed in December.

Nolan was contrite for his life of criminal activity in an interview published in November 2013.

“Really, pathetic. I cannot emphasize how stupid I feel,” he said then.

Nolan will remain under federal court supervision for three years after his release.