City of Peoria
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The former Arizona Attorney General’s Office official who was arrested by postal inspectors in Phoenix last week has been charged with one count of felony theft. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office submitted the charge against Vanessa Hickman, the former state government division chief under Attorney General Kris Mayes, on Monday morning.
The 49-year-old Hickman was arrested on suspicion of committing two felonies last week by U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents. Hickman is accused of stealing her neighbor’s misdelivered package — which contained a $2,400 diamond necklace — and reselling its contents on the website Poshmark.
Hickman faces a charge for a class 5 felony, which is the second-lowest felony. According to the Arizona Revised Statutes, prison time for those convicted of a class 5 felony can range from six months to two and a half years.
Hickman, through her lawyers, declined to comment when contacted by Phoenix New Times. She has not yet entered a plea, and a status conference in her case is scheduled for Dec. 4.
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Mayes spokesperson Richie Taylor previously told New Times that Hickman was placed on leave after USPIS informed Mayes’ office about their investigation. Hickman resigned a week ago, two days before her arrest on Nov. 19.
In a statement to New Times after Hickman’s arrest, Taylor wrote that “the allegations against Ms. Hickman are serious for any state employee, particularly someone in a leadership position.”
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
The criminal complaint against Hickman — who is referred to by her maiden name, Dailey — states that she unlawfully came into control of the property of her neighbor and made no “reasonable efforts to notify the true owner.” The package, sent to Hickman’s neighbor from Florida, contained up to $40,000 in jewelry. After repeated inquiries by postal inspectors, Hickman returned the package to the neighbor, who noticed that a $2,400 Costco-sourced bracelet wasn’t in the box.
Upon further investigation, postal inspectors found that Hickman had allegedly sold the same type of Costco bracelet on her Poshmark page, when the package was still in her possession, for a low price of $750, after initially listing it for $1,947.
This isn’t Hickman’s first time in the news.
Hickman is also currently engaged in a legal battle with her former employer, the city of Peoria, where she served as city attorney before resigning to join Mayes’ office in 2023. She took $138,795 in severance pay with her, but the city claims she wasn’t qualified to receive that much. Peoria sued to force Hickman to repay some of the money, and that case is ongoing. Hickman filed a countersuit against Peoria city officials, claiming that they defamed her by writing to Mayes about the saga, but that countersuit was dismissed at the beginning of the year.
In addition to that legal drama, Hickman has been undergoing divorce proceedings. The day she was put on leave by the Attorney General’s Office, Hickman’s divorce with her ex-husband was finalized. During that messy proceeding, Hickman admitted to struggling with alcohol abuse and said that she worked full-time for Mayes while attending a six-month outpatient treatment program.
