Colorado Springs Police investigating pattern of mail theft at one home on the north side
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs Police are investigating a reported repeat mailbox peeper and thief who appears to be targeting one home on the north side.
Victoria Wickman, a homeowner in the Vista Grande neighborhood, noticed multiple pieces of mail missing and didn't think anything of it, until she caught a man on a home security camera checking her mailbox in the middle of the night in late November.
To see if her suspicions about this thief were true, she planted an empty jewelry box in her mailbox only to find it gone when she checked back. Since then, she's retrieved her mail from the street as soon as it's delivered and opted for e-payments to protect her information.
"Now you're invading our privacy, now you're invading our property, and you're invading our identity. And I don't like that," Wickman said.
She first reported it to the Colorado Springs Police in December by filing two more reports and reaching out to the United States Postal Service for help. However, she has yet to hear that either agency has located the suspect or made substantial progress on their investigation.
Stealing mail is a federal offense, one that can land someone in jail for up to five years and can include a fine.
Wickman says multiple neighbors have also told her their packages have gone missing or have found their mail scattered across their property.
"Everybody has talked about it. We've all said, you know, this is ridiculous. We're tired of it. But I'm the only one that I know of [who has] been calling it and reporting," Wickman said.
Colorado Springs Police confirmed to KRDO13 they have responded to multiple calls regarding this incident, but also said these kinds of crimes are very challenging to get to the bottom of.
CSPD said they had basic suspect information, and are searching for a man that matched her description. Wickman says the one time she's gone out to see the man, she did not get a picture of his license plate, making it even more challenging to locate the suspect.
"What he's doing is a serious crime," Wickman said.