LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – FOX5 has been reporting on mail theft in the valley for months.
But a recent mailbox break-in has some neighbors in Summerlin taking matters and mail into their own hands. Business owner of Ship Center LV and U-Haul, Sandy Magnus is getting new customers because of the rise in break-ins.
“We’ve had an uptick recently of mailbox renters in our neighborhood in particular. A building behind us actually got robbed,” Magnus said.
Her business in the southwest valley isn’t far from where a break-in happened over the weekend in Summerlin, in a neighborhood just off the 215 and Charleston Boulevard.
The Community Box Unit still has the battle scars after thieves broke in, but a new reality is now setting in for a neighbor who’s directly affected.
“Apparently now we have to go to the Post Office to pick up our mail until they fix the mailbox. It’s only like 15 minutes’ drive from here, but it’s just a hassle, you know.” That anonymous neighbor did not wish to go on camera. But it’s exactly how Stella, another neighbor, described it after posting to Nextdoor, alerting not only her neighbors about the damage, but the authorities.
She tells FOX5 she contacted the United States Postal Service, who advised her that the request was forwarded and is currently being revied by the Postal Inspection Service, which is the law enforcement arm of USPS. All complaints involving mail tampering or theft go through USPIS.
The neighbor FOX5 spoke to who didn’t want to go on camera knows more than just packages could have been stolen.
“I know a lot of people still get hard copies of their statements, like financial statements. So that’s not good.”
Magnus says her customers aren’t waiting around to be another statistic.
“One of our renters said that her mailbox kept getting broken into and she was waiting for her debit card, three times. She never got it. So that’s why she opened up here and finally was able to access her money,” Magnus said.
A USPS spokesperson says that specific mailbox unit in Summerlin is being reviewed for repair or replacement by the Postal Service.
FOX5 wanted to know if this was common in this neighborhood.
That same anonymous neighbor says, “We’ve been here for seven years, never had any issues with our mail or even packages delivered on our front door. So this is definitely our first time for us.”
What’s not new for Magnus?
Having her U-Haul trucks stolen from her lot! She explains a strange coincidence the time they got one of the trucks back.
“One truck that came back actually was very interesting talking about mail theft, it was full of other people’s mail that was opened up, checks that were taken out,” Magnus said.
“So someone was hauling all that stuff out and just rumbling through it. It’s unfortunate!”
The Postal Inspection Service says arrests for letter carrier robberies are up almost 75% for the year 2024 compared to the year before, and complaints of mail theft are down 34% across the country over the last five months.
As those neighbors wait for a fix to the community mailbox, we learned from a USPS spokesperson they can pick up their mail at the Summerlin Post Office located at:
1611 Spring Gate Lane
Las Vegas, NV 89134-9998
Hours: M-F 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sat. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
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