Days later, Adrien sold a key, telling the undercover agent that it could be used to open blue mailboxes and apartment community mailboxes in the Delray Beach area, the complaint said. Those robberies stretched from University Village to the West Side to Rogers Park. On or about July 29, Adrien and the agent agreed to meet at a Walmart in Pompano Beach and exchange 10,000 for a key and a stolen check, according to the complaint. Postal Inspection Service to the Sun-Times after a public records request.Ĭhicago has seen a dramatic increase in robberies of letter carriers, too, from nine in 2017 to at least 23 last year, according to the records.Įarlier this month, Chicago police issued an alert after responding to 12 armed robberies of letter carriers in March and April, believed to be carried about by a crew of three men in ski masks. Crime & Safety 32 Stolen Credit Cards, USPS Master Key Found In Car At Tysons: Police Three suspects from New York were taken into custody in Tysons on Thursday and charged with several counts of. Nationally, robberies of mail carriers have increased from 67 in 2017 to around 250 last year, according to figures released in November by the U.S. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who has been an ally in pressuring USPS to do more. All four face federal charges of mail theft, robbery and illegal possession of USPS master keys, called arrow or universal. Editorial: Do more to protect mail carriers from alarming increase in armed robberiesįoster traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to ask for help from lawmakers and U.S.With those keys, they can steal mail, allowing them to wash and rewrite checks or even resell the. Lawmakers blast Postal Service’s ‘inadequate response’ to rise in robberies of letter carriers Criminals target letter carriers for their master keys, which unlock mailboxes across a ZIP code.RELATED USPS mail trucks with packages stolen from West Seattle. The suspects allegedly used stolen 'arrow keys,' or a universal USPS key. More ‘check washing’ victims speak out as officials press Postal Service to address rising fraud In early May, USPS discovered that a master key had been stolen and used to access peoples mail all over the 98118 zip code. For instance, a rash of thefts from blue collection boxes in Milwaukee led to the break up last month of a criminal ring.Authorities this week reported master locks were stolen, which were used with a 3D printer to generate keys, giving the thiefor thievesaccess to group mailboxes in housing developments across town, as well as collection boxes. Check fraud spikes: Chicago sees jump in checks stolen from mailboxes, ‘washed’ and cashed for thousands of dollars To address security concerns, the USPS said it is 'hardening' 12,000 blue collection boxes in high security risk areas nationwide, by making it tougher for criminals to gain access to the mail. Marysville Police issued an alert warning of a recent spike in mail theft. The master key for the United States Postal Service in Clarksville has been stolen.The suspects in Friday’s robberies were found later in Fort Pierce, along with a gray Nissan Altima, but it was not immediately clear how many were detained.Ĭlick here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. He said the arrow key program is a fairly new system. “I can’t give you a rhyme or reason as to what area they picked,” Johnsten said. Apartment management said they spoke to USPS and USPS said that the master key was stolen and that is how the thieves got into the mailboxes. The suspect will be able to get multiple pieces of mail all at once, said Edmonds PD Commander Josh McClure. The key gives access to community mailboxes and standalone blue drop boxes. He said checks and similar items are stolen, and the carriers in this case are fine and they don’t believe they were targeted. To crack down on rising mail theft, USPS said it is changing out 49,000 arrow locks with electronic locks. Edmonds Police say the robber took the mail key and now has access to mailboxes in the 9800 zip codes, which is nearly all of Edmonds. “Recently though, we’re made six federal arrests for suspects that were involved,” postal inspector Rick Johnsten said. The thieves wanted the postal worker’s master keys or arrow keys, which open up mailboxes and collection boxes and get what’s inside.Īrrow keys being stolen is not only a problem nationally, but locally as well. > STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<< Postal Service said suspects were involved in two robberies of U.S.
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