In anticipation of soon receiving my free COVID-19 test kit in the mail, this past Saturday I asked my mailman, who I know well, if he had delivered any test kits in my single-family residential neighborhood and told him that I found my and my two neighbors’ mailbox lids wide open today, after walking my dogs. He responded the following:
• Free kits are now being delivered on other routes, but not yet on his.
• As expected, mail thieves have already swooped in checking residential mailboxes for these free test kits; he is on alert looking for any suspicious activity. Today, one of your neighbors observed a car stopping at and opening mailboxes, called the Los Angeles County Sheriff Station in your city that quickly dispatched deputies who caught and arrested the thieves with a load of mail with no free COVID-19 test kits in their car.
• As always, pick up your mail as soon as possible after delivery.
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Why not install a locking secured mailbox?
I did 4 years ago after a mail thief/thieves swept through my neighborhood overnight duing the Holiday Season, leaving every mailbox lid wide open and some demolished like mine. Because my mailman asked me to replace my damaged mailbox ASAP and rather than have my HOA replace and install the same cheap mailbox, I quickly ordered online and installed an anti-theft bin design mailbox made of heavy gauge welded steel construction with a patented anti-pry latch locking system featuring a chrome-alloy tempered steel hook cam as shown here.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mail-Boss-Mail-Manager-Locking-P…
Well, this recent past Holiday Season, mail thieves swooped in again and demolished my anti-this and anti-that steel mailbox, punching out the key lock and prying opened the steel door. My mailman noticed all the opened mailbox lids early that morning while delivering packages and was kind enough to stop by and notify me. He told me not to waste my money buying another so-called secure mailbox and that these mailbox thieves had the tools to quickly break in without making any noticeable noise. So I had my HOA install their cheap-o standard mailbox.
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Oh, about the mail thieves caught by county sheriff deputies this past weekend? Given LA County’s hopeless feckless DA George Gascón who defends rather than prosecutes criminals, these thieves most likely will not be prosecuted and will be released and emboldened to continue stealing mail.
Regards,
Ray