Fed up with the rash of mail thefts in his southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood, one resident caught the suspected thieves in the act and followed them until police showed up, leading to multiple people getting detained. NBC6’s Jamie Guirola reports
Fed up with the rash of mail thefts in his southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood, one resident caught the suspected thieves in the act and followed them until police showed up, leading to multiple people getting detained.
Neighbors in the Glenvar Heights community say the thefts have been going on for years.
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The resident, who didn't want to be identified, set up security cameras that caught the suspected thieves on scooters driving up and down the streets and going through mailboxes with bags and bins.
"So they're just driving around with these little scooters going 30 mph and basically opening up everybody’s mailbox," he said.
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But when he caught them on Thursday morning, he decided to act and chased one of the scooters while calling Miami-Dade Police.
"This time, I just followed them in a high-speed, 20-mph chase down the street, and the police responded to that really quickly," the resident said.
When police intervened, they ended up detaining multiple people on different scooters.
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"You know, for the average viewer, you might say, 'Oh, they just stole your mail,' but its a lot more," said Mary Faraldo, the president of the neighborhood association. "People think they’re just stealing flyers and junk mail, that junk mail is attached to your name and your address, and out of that they can steal your identity."
Faraldo wants to see the state attorney and postal inspector do something about the alleged ring.
"Whatever they need from us as citizens we think we’ve offered ample proof," she said.
According to Miami-Dade Police, at least two people were arrested in connection with the alleged ring. Miguel Hernandez Sanchez and Daphne Maria Roldan face several charges, including organized fraud, according to the arrest reports.
Among them, investigators found checkbooks, credit cards, social security cards, and more.
