Indio homeowners considering taking action to catch mail thieves
Several pieces of stolen mail were found left in bushes, Sunday night, in a cul-de-sac, at the end of Pecos Place in Indio.
It was found by people who live on the street, including Ted Lozano, who has lived in his home for 26 years.
“When I saw my mailbox it was pried open and there was nothing in it,” said Lozano.
Lozano and others believe the mail thieves left the mail behind after breaking into mail boxes, and after going through letters, looking for and keeping holiday gift cards cash, and other documents containing valuable personal information.
“People have no business getting into other people’s privacy,” said Lozano.
Indio police responded after they were called to the neighborhood Sunday, and collected the mail as evidence.
Lozano says over the past week and a half, his mail box had been broken into at least twice, In fact, we found a wrench sitting on top of one of the vandalized boxes.
Even with Sunday’s response by police, Jeffrey Bayer, who has lived on the street for 25 years, expressed an interest in having more of a police presence in the neighborhood.
“It just seems like in the past 12 months, there is a cut back. I don’t know if its personnel cutbacks, or cut backs on night shift,” said Bayer.
Wanting additional information in the case, and to find out if its happening elsewhwere, we stopped by the Indio Police Department, after calling the department for comment earlier Monday morning. We were told Lieutenant Hapner was not available for comment, and that he was “attending a workshop”.
“I’m just a little bit upset that mailboxes are getting broken into,” said Lozano.
To help anyone avoid mail theft, police previously recommended reporting suspicious individuals and vehicles seen driving around neighborhoods and mailboxes. Also for outgoing mail, drop it off at the post office or, hand it off to a letter carrier. Pick up mail promptly after delivery, and finally, report any mail theft to police.
“Each one of us individually and as a neighborhood, need to become activists for the safety of our own homes and neighborhoods,” said Bayer.
Lozano said to help crack down on crime, and other unwanted activity happening at the end of their cul-de-sac, they’ll consider setting up a video camera, and re-starting a neighborhood watch group.
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