Break Ins at Sebastopol PO

A friend who has a PO Box at the Sebastopol Post Office, asked me to post that her PO Box has been broken into several times in the last few weeks. Evidently the PO doors are open 24/7, giving the thief access whenever they like. There are no security cameras inside. The suspicion is that the thief has a master key, as my friend was told by PO employees that this has happened to a number of PO Boxes. My friend has lost packages when the thief stole the yellow delivery card from her PO Box, and then claimed the package at the window. I'm surprised that there's such lax security at the PO.

Could someone send a Tweet to DJT, asking him to check this out?

how is your friend handling this-and how id the PO handling it, Sebastopol police etc?

My friend put a hold on her mail, and picks it up at the window.

She lost packages sent by Amazon. Since the package was picked up by someone posing as her, with the yellow card stolen from her box, Amazon says the liability is with the PO and not them. My friend now has to initiate a claim w the PO, which is not exactly a fun thing.

She said the PO Supervisor said thefts have been occurring at other PO boxes, as well as at the Guerneville and Petaluma POs.

The Sebastopol police have been called, they said they'll make extra patrols of the area around the PO.

A notice was put in all Seb PO boxes, that the PO will no longer be open 24/7, but will be closing at night and opening in the morning. That will take place late in August, as 30 days notice is required. There is still no security camera in the PO, evidently because there's no money for that, as the PO has been in tight financial conditions... as you may have heard from recent national news about the PO.

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Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:

how is your friend handling this-and how id the PO handling it, Sebastopol police etc?

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Hi. recently someone put a hold on all my residential mail in Sebastopol. I noticed because usually it’s mostly coupons, I assumed it was because most businesses are not at normal operating capacity. I did inquire with the Sebastopol Post Office because I had ordered medication for My dogs, and tracking number said 27th July delivery. Nothing in mail at all. I had signed up for informed delivery which texts photos of mail that should be delivered at your home mailbox that day. After another week of no mail, I called postmaster again he said they are closed ( it was 5:30om); and call back Monday.
I called again after checking informed delivery which showed
Mail from Edd (4 time sensitive letters) as well as my puppies medication so i called again asked againyi please let me pickup all my mail once they finally confirmed someone put a hold on my mail. Via Internet. And no name of person who did it.
Asked if I wanted them to pass info on to be investigated. Yes I said.
My hold was lifted and Carrier delivered mail following day.

So evidentially anyone can put your mail on hold. 3 weeks into it I started asking Sebastopol post office why (lived here 15 years),I had no mail at all. Told there was no holds or forwards on my address. Two more calls during next week finally found the hold.
I know they are very busy.
I just hope no one else has to experience this.

CHRISTIAN KALLEN
SONOMA INDEX-TRIBUNE

September 4, 2020, 10:42AM

A minor vehicle code violation last weekend may have led to a breakthrough in a number of post office break-ins and mail theft ranging across the greater Bay Area – possibly including the mid-June break-in at the El Verano Post Office.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office deputies, on patrol Aug. 29 near the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, pulled over a gray Mercedes sedan for having an obstructed rear license plate, and discovered the occupants were a pair of out-of-town visitors with a suspicious cargo.

The two “were found in possession of thousands of pieces of stolen mail, counterfeit postal service mailbox keys, as well as counterfeit identifications and checks,” according to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Much of the material was found in a room the couple were renting at the Sonoma Mission Inn.

When they were stopped Richard Belden Waters, 28, a parolee from Contra Costa County, and 26-year-old Desiree Brianna Sanchez, were identified, although they initially gave false names. But Waters had a key to a room at the nearby hotel, which as he was on parole investigators were permitted to search, according to Juan Valencia of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. There deputies discovered extensive stolen and illegal materials, including machines to duplicate postal keys.

Once her identity was established, Sanchez was arrested for seven outstanding warrants from throughout the Bay Area involving multiple charges of stolen vehicles and mail theft. Waters had been convicted of two felony counts of armed robbery in Contra Costa County in 2009, and sentenced to 55 years in prison. He was out on parole.

The two were implicated in a series of similar mail theft crimes in May, when they were arrested in Folsom and booked into the Sacramento County jail for auto theft, identity theft, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to commit a crime.

They were released shortly thereafter for reasons that are not clear; however, Sanchez was then arrested in the Contra Costa County city of Pittsburgh with additional stolen mail from Folsom. She was cited and released at that time, however, due to a positive coronavirus test among the inmates at the Martinez detention facility that kept her from being detained.

Sanchez, Waters and a third suspect — Roger Joseph, 28 — were arrested several days later in El Dorado County, again with several bags of mail stolen from local residents. Again, however, they were released after being cited, according to reporting from the Sacramento Bee.

Their trail disappears in press reports at that point until their Aug. 29 arrest in Boyes Hot Springs.
However, on Monday, June 15, the El Verano Post Office also reported a weekend break-in.

At that time postal inspector Jeff Fitch said the investigation was in its early stages, but pointed out that it is a federal crime to steal or tamper with U.S. mail. The Postal Service has a standing reward policy of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

Neither Sanchez nor Waters has yet been linked to the El Verano Post Office break-in, though this and similar incidents are still under investigation by multiple agencies, according to Fitch.

According to the Sheriff’s Office statement about the Aug. 29 arrest of Sanchez and Waters, mail from Sonoma, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa were found in the duo’s possession, and that mail theft victims would be receiving “theft notifications from the Postal Service in the near future.”

Sanchez and Waters were arrested on misdemeanor charges of identity theft, possession of burglary tools and of drug paraphernalia, as well as felony charges of identity theft, receiving stolen property and providing false identification. Waters’ charges include a “no bail” hold due to his parole violations; Sanchez’s bail is set at $35,000.

Email Christian at [email protected].

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Posted in reply to the post by LivingTheDream:

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