LODI — A man suspicious to folks in one Lodi neighborhood drifts into the beam of a homeowner’s surveillance camera around 3:49 a.m. Sunday.
He seems to spot one of the cameras in the network, turning his head away and fumbling with what appears to be a pair of gloves.
He comes back into frame some seven minutes later, and then this surveillance system — which records in intervals — catches a car turning off its lights and pulling down the stretch of Waterford Way the man just vanished down.
Neighbors now believe this man and whoever was in the car are responsible for breaking into their cluster mailbox, stealing the contents.
“My husband was going fishing and he noticed the boxes were all open,” said Liza Henney.
And it’s not the first time she’s had to deal with such frustration.
“Yeah, the last time they took like a crowbar to it and opened it up, but this time it was identified that it was a key that was used so … wondering if it’s an inside job at the post office or something,” she said.
It’s a question many people missing mail are asking themselves after a recent string of similar break-ins from Sacramento to Modesto, but postal investigators have other theories.
Jeff Fitch spoke to FOX40 via FaceTime from Richmond and said he doesn’t believe an employee has turned on the postal service.
“No, no, when we identify who these individuals are, none of these people have been employed by the post office,” he said.
So as opposed to a stolen master key opening the way for thieves to steal, investigators suspect a counterfeit might have been made.
But they’re not commenting on how.
Just being in possession of such a counterfeit is a federal offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
“Stop! We’re gonna catch you,” said Henney, delivering her message to the thieves.
Boxes around the region are being re-keyed with tougher locks to foil those who might want to play postman.
Fitch says when break-ins like this happen many homeowners wait until the next time they see their letter carrier to report the situation.
Instead he says the best thing to do is call the postal inspector’s hotline at 1 (877) 876-2455.
Those who’ve had mail stolen are also advised to closely watch their bank and credit cards statements for unusual activity in the weeks following the theft.
The neighborhood surveillance video is being reviewed by investigators.
If you know anything about who may have breached cluster mailboxes in Lodi’s Park West and Bridge Town neighborhoods, police and postal inspectors want to hear from you
