SAN ANTONIO – Residents of Northwest Crossing are stepping up to tackle a troubling issue in their community: mail theft. They’ve recently shared surveillance footage in hopes of helping the police catch a thief who was spotted tampering with their mailboxes.
In the video, a truck pulls up, and a man exits, holding something in front of his face as he approaches the cluster mailbox. He then turns the camera away, obscuring his actions.
Dane, a resident who installed the camera, reported that when he checked the mailboxes the following Saturday, they were wide open and completely empty. “He pushed the camera away so you can’t see him actually open the mailbox, but you can hear him doing all of that,” Dane explained. “Then in the morning, every single piece of mail was missing from our mailbox and the doors were left open.”
This isn’t the first time mail theft has occurred in the area. Dane mentioned that residents have found the mailboxes open on three separate occasions, with two of those happening after the camera was installed.
“We’ve had three instances where the mailboxes have been open,” he said, expressing his frustration. “The first time was before the camera was up, and it’s been two now.”
Concerned about these repeated thefts, residents brought their worries to a homeowners association (HOA) meeting held on Tuesday night, seeking a long-term solution. The HOA reported that the United States Postal Service (USPS) had informed them that someone had used a makeshift key to break into the back of the mailbox. As a result, the association is currently exploring additional security measures to protect residents’ mail.
USPS has confirmed that it is investigating the issue of mail thefts in Northwest Crossing, and the San Antonio police department is also looking into the case.
When asked what he would say to the person responsible for stealing his mail, Dane had a straightforward message: “Get a job. There’s plenty of ways to make money,” he said. “Don’t try to get someone’s credit card and do fraud. It just costs everyone money.”
