Decatur Police Sgt. Jennifer Ross sends in this alert to the community…

Decatur Police are investigating mail theft that occurred in the Lenox Place neighborhood on 1-24-14.  A complainant reported mail was removed from her mailbox between 5:30 pm and 8:20 pm.  Officers canvassed the neighborhood and recovered mail belonging to eight additional residents on Melrose Avenue, Adair Street, Lansdowne Avenue and Drexel Avenue strewn on the sidewalk and streets.  One resident reported a check missing.  At this time, no other items have been reported to be missing.  Based on the circumstances, it appears the suspect(s) was walking through the neighborhood.

There was also a theft of outgoing mail in the 300 block of Mead Road reported on 1-21-14.  In that case, the mail contained outgoing checks that were taken from the mailbox overnight.

Prevention Tips:

• - Take outgoing mail, especially outgoing checks, directly to the post office or USPS mailbox in your area.
• - Promptly remove mail from your mailbox once it is delivered.
• - If you observe someone walking through your neighborhood going to multiple mailboxes, please call police immediately and provide a detailed description of the person, what they are wearing and what direction they are going.

***Thanks to the observations and quick call from a Decatur resident in the South Candler Street/Midway Road area on 12-26-13, officers were able to locate and arrest a mail theft suspect and recover stolen property.

For more tips, go to https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/mailfraud/fraudschemes/mailtheft/tipthieves.aspx