A postal worker rented a storage unit to hide mail because he felt 'pressured' to deliver it

(CNN) A United States postal worker was caught with a public storage unit full of mail he never delivered.

Jason Delacruz pleaded guilty to charges of delay of mail by a postal employee in August 2019. He is set to be sentenced on February 12.

Delacruz, who worked as a mail carrier in Chesapeake, Virginia, said he felt "pressured" and couldn't "make time" to complete his mail route, according to court documents. He told authorities that he rented a public storage unit for $49 per month for "the sole purpose of storing mail he could not deliver."

The employee said he started hiding mail in November or December 2018 and he rented the storage unit in February 2019, according to court records. He said he put mail he was unable to deliver in the unit from that time up until he was discovered in May 2019.

Delacruz told authorities he intended to deliver the mail in the storage unit, but he fell behind and was never able to, according to court documents. He said he never destroyed any mail.