Security video shows thieves allegedly driving away with community's mailbox
Security camera video appears to show two men stealing a community's mailbox early in the morning on Wednesday.
It happened at about 2 a.m. when a truck pulled up alongside a cluster mailbox in a quiet neighborhood in Corona.
"It looks like they just unscrewed the bolts, left the nuts and they took the entire unit with them," neighbor Lan Gomez said.
Gomez's security camera captured the two men pulling up to the mailbox before removing it from the ground and lifting it into the back of their truck.
"Just thinking that they did it in less than probably two minutes is frightening to me," Gomez said. "And I worry that if they did it that fast, they've probably done it before and will do it again."
Gomez said the US Postal Service reinforced the same mailbox more than a year ago after thieves broke in and stole outgoing mail. She believes the thieves are upping their game and want to warn other communities.
USPS said across the country, mail thefts are up 327% since 2018. Just two weeks ago, a letter carrier was robbed for his master key in Rancho Cucamonga.
Law enforcement is trying to fight against mail theft and employee robberies with a new program called Project Safe Delivery. Some are skeptical about their efforts.
"I think they have to figure out a system to keep the unit so it's locked to the ground, and just a couple of bolts isn't going to do it," she said.
With other cluster mailboxes nearby, the neighborhood is watching for anyone else trying to rob them.
