On April 16, EPPD Dispatch received a call from an apartment complex manager stating that a package had been stolen from the complex’s mailroom.

Earlier that day a resident had told the manager she was missing a package. When the manager went into the mailroom, he noticed several packages had been opened. Investigators were able to access video footage of the mailroom and determined the suspect was a resident of the complex. When the suspect entered the mailroom, he was wearing a full facemask. On the video, the man is seen opening approximately 15 packages and leaving the mailroom with eight of them.

Two days later, EPPD investigators obtained a search warrant for the apartment unit linked to the suspect and found a distinctive item of clothing the suspect was wearing during the theft. In addition, they found an empty Amazon box with a different apartment number on it and the item missing from the original theft complaint.

The suspect was arrested and has been charged with two felony counts of mail theft.

Although many package theft cases go unsolved due to the difficulty of identifying suspects, in this case, the investigators’ quick and thorough follow-up, along with the help of surveillance video, led them right to the suspect’s door.

If you become a victim of mail or package theft, please call 911 to report it, even if you think it’s unlikely that the perpetrator will be caught.

To help prevent mail and package theft, make arrangements with a neighbor to receive your items if you won’t be home or ask the delivery company to bring the packages to the back of your home where they are out of sight from the street. You may also consider installing a security camera near your front door.  In addition, if you’re mailing something important through the postal service you can select the “Hold for Pickup” option and the recipient can collect the package at their local post office. Amazon offers a similar service through Amazon Pickup.