Residents of a Sacramento County neighborhood said people have been stealing mail from their cluster mailbox for almost a year, and surveillance video shows the latest theft happened early Friday morning.Sanjay Saxena lives on Baytree Place, a cul-de-sac near Fair Oaks Boulevard and Eastern Avenue, and said he put up new home security cameras to catch the thieves in the act. In a video Saxena sent to KCRA 3, someone is seen getting out of a car on Baytree Place, opening the cluster mailbox at the end of the cul-de-sac, and then bringing items from inside the mailbox back to the car multiple times. The person then gets into the backseat, and someone else drives the car out of the neighborhood.“They come, two minutes, in and out, and they’re gone,” Saxena said. “It’s not one time. It’s been happening every two weeks.”Saxena said he believes the same people have been stealing mail multiple times over the past several months from the cluster mailbox, which everyone who lives on the Baytree Place cul-de-sac uses. He said he first noticed the mail thefts after his mail was stolen in November 2022.“When I used to come and check my mail, it was not there. So, then I realized, ‘Oh, something is fishy,’” Saxena said.Neighbors said their mail carrier told them someone stole what is known as an arrow key, which is a key that opens all mailboxes on a certain route.“It’s frustrating that it’s been almost a year and that multiple neighbors have filed reports with the postal inspector about the issue,” a neighbor, who only wanted to be identified as Daniel, said.KCRA 3 contacted the United States Postal Inspection Service to ask what was being done to solve the issue. Matthew Norfleet, a U.S. postal inspector with the San Francisco Division Mail Fraud Team, said they are looking into the issue.“We have criminal investigators assigned to this crime, and we use all the tools of law enforcement,” Norfleet said.When KCRA 3 asked if changing the locks on mailboxes was an option, Norfleet said while that is done, it is not a viable long-term solution.“That’s what we’re going to do, but it’s painting the Golden Gate Bridge, right. By the time you’re done, you’ve changed all the locks, it’s time to change all the locks again,” Norfleet said. “The postal service is constantly developing new methods of locks, upgrading the locks from prior generations.”Norfleet also said that arrow key thefts have been a problem for years now. He did not have exact data to share with KCRA 3 about the Sacramento region but said it is a nationwide concern.“We’ve definitely seen it before in the Sacramento area. There’s a huge problem across the country right now with those keys being stolen from carriers on their routes,” Norfleet said. “Everybody can help keep their eyes open and help make sure the carriers are safe when they go through your neighborhoods delivering your mail.”If you believe thieves have been getting into your mailbox, you can report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by calling 1-877-876-2455.
Residents of a Sacramento County neighborhood said people have been stealing mail from their cluster mailbox for almost a year, and surveillance video shows the latest theft happened early Friday morning.
Sanjay Saxena lives on Baytree Place, a cul-de-sac near Fair Oaks Boulevard and Eastern Avenue, and said he put up new home security cameras to catch the thieves in the act. In a video Saxena sent to KCRA 3, someone is seen getting out of a car on Baytree Place, opening the cluster mailbox at the end of the cul-de-sac, and then bringing items from inside the mailbox back to the car multiple times. The person then gets into the backseat, and someone else drives the car out of the neighborhood.
“They come, two minutes, in and out, and they’re gone,” Saxena said. “It’s not one time. It’s been happening every two weeks.”
Saxena said he believes the same people have been stealing mail multiple times over the past several months from the cluster mailbox, which everyone who lives on the Baytree Place cul-de-sac uses. He said he first noticed the mail thefts after his mail was stolen in November 2022.
“When I used to come and check my mail, it was not there. So, then I realized, ‘Oh, something is fishy,’” Saxena said.
Neighbors said their mail carrier told them someone stole what is known as an arrow key, which is a key that opens all mailboxes on a certain route.
“It’s frustrating that it’s been almost a year and that multiple neighbors have filed reports with the postal inspector about the issue,” a neighbor, who only wanted to be identified as Daniel, said.
KCRA 3 contacted the United States Postal Inspection Service to ask what was being done to solve the issue. Matthew Norfleet, a U.S. postal inspector with the San Francisco Division Mail Fraud Team, said they are looking into the issue.
“We have criminal investigators assigned to this crime, and we use all the tools of law enforcement,” Norfleet said.
When KCRA 3 asked if changing the locks on mailboxes was an option, Norfleet said while that is done, it is not a viable long-term solution.
“That’s what we’re going to do, but it’s painting the Golden Gate Bridge, right. By the time you’re done, you’ve changed all the locks, it’s time to change all the locks again,” Norfleet said. “The postal service is constantly developing new methods of locks, upgrading the locks from prior generations.”
Norfleet also said that arrow key thefts have been a problem for years now. He did not have exact data to share with KCRA 3 about the Sacramento region but said it is a nationwide concern.
“We’ve definitely seen it before in the Sacramento area. There’s a huge problem across the country right now with those keys being stolen from carriers on their routes,” Norfleet said. “Everybody can help keep their eyes open and help make sure the carriers are safe when they go through your neighborhoods delivering your mail.”
If you believe thieves have been getting into your mailbox, you can report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by calling 1-877-876-2455.
Read More: ‘Something is fishy’: Residents in Sacramento County neighborhood report ongoing mail theft
