Police advise identity theft precautions after a string of mailbox thefts in Manhattan Beach
Police believe the suspects used these metal plates, wrapped in duct tape and covered with a sticky substance, to fish out outgoing mail from mailboxes. PHOTO BY ESTHER KANG Early morning on Nov. 1, Manhattan Beach patrol officers kept their eyes on a particular car maneuvering slowly and suspiciously throughout neighborhoods around 8th Street and John Street near downtown Manhattan Beach. Noticing both equipment and moving violations, officers shortly stopped the car just a few blocks away and conducted a search with the driver’s consent. What initially looked like a run-of-the-mill car stop quickly became more complicated when officers found — along with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia — 11 pieces of outgoing mail scattered inside the car, all belonging to Manhattan Beach residents and none of the three out-of-town suspects. “Mail theft and identity theft have been around since I started at the department 20 years ago,” Manhattan Beach detective Jeanette Meers said. The stolen mail belonged to a total of five people, who were sending out checks to pay their bills, Meers said. During the search, police found evidence to suggest exactly how the three men had stolen the mail…
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