Mailbox mayhem: Sacramento suspects caught on camera stealing mailbox unit
SACRAMENTO -- In the dark of night, two suspects approached a community mailbox unit and pulled it out of its bolted spot in the ground. They lifted it onto the back of their vehicle and drove off along with the mail of nearly two dozen Sacramento residents.
It's the most notable in a series of mail thefts in a Sacramento neighborhood, near the streets of Dora Huntzing Avenue and Auntie Burney Street. Neighbors, who shared surveillance video of the mail thefts with CBS13 say this is not the first time this area has been targeted by mail thieves.
The mailbox unit theft is under investigation by the U.S. Postal Investigation Service and no suspects are in custody. A $10,000 reward is out for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest or conviction of the suspects involved.
The unit was stolen at the beginning of May, and replaced shortly after, but it didn't take long for mail thieves to return and attempt to steal the unit again -- twice. Both times, they were caught on home surveillance footage, which has been shared with investigators.
"You see, in this case, the people who did it, they put some effort into stealing this mailbox. There is an underground market for stolen mail," said Matthew Norfleet, a U.S. Postal Inspector.
Norfleet said "most times" mail thieves are armed and urges anyone who witnesses mail theft in progress not to approach the suspects but to call 9-1-1.
"Mail theft is a crime. The people who do it are criminals, they are almost always armed when we catch up to them," said Norfleet.
"I hadn't even thought about it until you said someone took the whole thing!" said LeKisha Appleton, a neighbor who said her mail has been stolen and lives around the block from the unit that was stolen.
Postal inspectors urge anyone with concerns over their mail being stolen to clear out their mailboxes every night before dark. Most mail thefts, according to Norfleet, happen in the middle of the night between midnight and the early morning hours, when homeowners are most likely to be asleep.
Norfleet said postal workers are in uniform and do not deliver in the early morning hours, and if someone is lingering at a mailbox at this time, they are not on-duty postal workers.
Sacramento residents with information about this latest string of mail thefts are urged to contact the postal inspectors with information or surveillance video. The 24-hour number is (877) 876-2455.
