Police Warn Of Thieves Targeting Metro Mailboxes

Jacqueline Sit, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City police are warning residents about thieves who are targeting mailboxes across the metro. They are stealing mail from dozens of people, but one victim caught a thief on camera.

In surveillance video, a woman was caught walking up to a home and in a matter of second she snatches mail out of an Oklahoma City man's mailbox.

"I'm lucky that I have the security video, however how good is the video if you can't catch the people?" asked the mail theft victim.

That's why this man, who asked not to be identified, is sharing his story. He wants to catch the crook that ruined his holiday and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.

"It ruins your Christmas. It ruins your Thanksgiving. It ruins anything like that because you're afraid to leave your house, afraid that they'll come back," said the theft victim.

In the surveillance video, the homeowner approached the woman after seeing her on his porch.

"You can notice in the video she's holding the mail under her coat and I asked her what she's doing and she said she was looking for some fictitious name guy and so she turned around and left," said the man.

U.S. Postal Inspector Charlie Thigpen said there are a higher number of theft cases around the holidays.

"They're stealing the personal checks that you're writing to pay your monthly bills and turning around and washing those and producing counterfeits from those pieces of mail they've stolen," said Thigpen.

In this particular case, Thigpen believes these crooks could be connected to a string of other recent crimes.

"This could be involved with a group of individuals that we've been looking at for the past 45 to 60 days," said the U.S. Postal Inspector.

"According to the Postal Inspector, she has ripped off 20 people including the apartment complex since Thanksgiving and I'd like to see her and her group captured and taken out of the picture," said the mail theft victim.

And investigators want to catch these crooks. If caught, the penalty is up to five years in jail and or a $250,000 fine.

The woman in the security video had long dirty blonde hair and wears glasses. She was last seen in a 1996 black Sebring convertible. If you recognize her, or have any information on these thefts, call Crime Stoppers at (405) 235-7300.