BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - Suspected mail thieves strike in the Battle Creek neighborhood in Broken Arrow Sunday morning days after neighbors thought the suspects were behind bars.
Tim Robinson is especially thankful for the security cameras he bought on a whim a few months ago.
“When I reviewed the data evidently they were in my mailbox," said Robinson, a Broken Arrow resident.
One camera spotting the people he said went looking for his and his neighbors' mail Sunday.
“It’s hard to know someone’s trying to go through your stuff while you’re sleeping. I have kids and that’s a concern," he said.
For months he's scrolled through similar comments and YouTube links.
“The problem is it’s not just one or two people, there’s other videos online where there’s three people going to a person’s door.”
So, Sunday morning he went after them.
“I followed them until they got pretty erratic with their driving.”
He called police but there was nothing they could do.
2 Works for You went through the neighborhood looking for people with similar stories.
Robinson said he believed mail theft lead to other kinds.
That's when we spotted a car with its window completely shattered.
“We called the police, we tried to make a police report. They said, 'Good luck. There’s a lot of break-ins,'" said Broken Arrow Resident Dived Kennedy.
He said he and his neighbors also see the same car.
He believed the same people broke into his cars three separate times.
“Normally mail theft is not related to auto theft, it’s just usually the same crowd," said Cpl. Matt Rose of the Tulsa Police Department.
Kennedy's glass smashed just three days ago.
“Just within the last year we’ve seen a big uptick in mail theft and I think it’s just the ease of grabbing that information for identify theft, or credit cards and those checks," Rose said.
Tyler Moon now sits in the Tulsa County Jail after police found him with stolen mail in Broken Arrow on Wednesday.
“United States Postal Service has a postal inspector in Tulsa that tries to work those cases but he gets really overwhelmed.”
“I don’t feel safe. I do not feel safe at all," Kennedy said.
Now he said he has to rely on himself and neighbors to keep their eyes open.
“This time they break into my car, next time it’s going to break into my house, next they are going to come and rob me.”
He's considering buying a gun.
But not before giving these brazen, relentless thieves a piece of advice.
“Go have a job, work hard.”
Police recommend getting security cameras and locked mailboxes to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.
If you become a victim don't hesitate to make a report online to your local police department.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
