SAN ANTONIO – Residents in a San Antonio neighborhood on the far West Side are outraged at the number of times their mailboxes have been broken into. The latest theft was captured on camera by one resident.
The resident, a veteran who asked not to be identified, said he initially had a camera installed on his property facing the mailboxes on Arrowhead Trail to watch for the person delivering the mail.
“I usually check it every day, and this time when I check it, I noticed the back of the mailbox was open,” the veteran said. “I assumed it happened overnight, but when I replayed the footage, at 7:19 a.m. I noticed this maroon truck drives up, the guy gets out and he backs up to the mailbox. In less than two minutes, he pops open the back of one section of the mailbox. He reaches in and gets some mail and gets in his truck and he is gone!”
Neighbors said they’ve been hit several times before.
They said it is beyond frustrating.
“What is really bad is that my neighbors that had their mail in there for over a month had to go to the post office and stand in line for over an hour to get their mail,” the veteran said.
Another resident, who also asked not to be identified, said he has had several packages stolen before because of the mailbox break-in.
“I have to go to the post office and have been in line waiting for an hour and 20 minutes,” the resident said. “On numerous occasions, I have to get out of there, go back on and attempt to go back the next day. It is a hassle. Not just for me but for everybody else.”
The veteran, who has reported the latest incident to San Antonio police and the US Postal Service, said this kind of crime affects everyone in many different ways.
“They are only hurting people, especially in this pandemic,” the veteran said. “People are down on their luck and trying to survive. He is taking things away from them.”
The veteran said he hopes sharing his footage would inspire change in his community.
“I hope it stops them and it forces the Postal Service to replace these old 30-year-old mailboxes that are easy to pop open with more secure mailboxes. There are more secure mailboxes out there,” he said.
While the crime is being investigated, the veteran is encouraging all of his neighbors to constantly check on their mail, and to sign up for the Informed Delivery option with the United States Postal Service that notifies you as soon as your mail is delivered.