Valley hit with another round of mailbox break-ins

WASILLA — The Mat-Su is experiencing a rash of mailbox break-ins and problem only seems to be getting worse.

For the second time this month, vandals have made the rounds of the Valley's outlying areas not only vandalizing cluster box units (CBU's), but stealing the contents. CBU's are the large, multi-slotted boxes used for mail delivery and pickup in areas such as subdivisions or apartment complexes. The units cost approximately $1,700 each plus shipping and are typically privately owned. There are approximately 100 CBU sites in the Mat-Su.

The most recent rash of break-ins occurred in the Meadow Lakes-Big Lake area. Beginning on Sunday, Feb. 12 through Thursday, Feb. 16, more than two-dozen CBU's were vandalized and looted. Some of the locations included Pittman Road, North Wyoming, South Park, Beaver Lake Road, Johnson and Vine, No Name Hill and King Arthur, Bogle Bluff, Meadow Lakes and Skyview Drive, Palmer Wasilla Highway, and Schrock Road.

CBU's along Knik-Goose Bay Road in the Settlers Bay area were vandalized or robbed the week prior. According to affected residents, in every case, culprits removed all the mail, kept what they thought to be valuable and threw the remainder on the adjoining roadway and/or ditches.

The incidents are heating up the Stop Valley Thieves Facebook page, which is intended to serve as a community link for vandalism, thefts and related issues. Valley resident Audra Godin is one of those hundreds affected. She also installs CBU's.

"They buy them from us and we install them for customers," said Godin. "It's a federal offense to break into a mailbox. We are all sick and tired of these thieves stealing and destroying our homes and property and getting away with this here in the valley. It is time to pull together and catch these thieves."

To help try and put an end to the rash, Godin said a reward has been established. As of press deadline Tuesday, it sat at $1,200. She said two individuals contributed $500 each. Anyone wishing to add to the reward amount can send an email to matsumailboxtheft@gmail.com.

That email address is also good if anyone has anonymous tips or information they wish to share about any of the known or future incidents. She encourages people to forward the email address to friends and post it on their own social media pages.

"Someone out there has seen these thieves in action. Maybe there is some security camera out there that has caught these thieves. Thieves are always proud of what they have done and are bragging to others," Godin posted on social media. "Somebody knows them."

Scott Lapiene , another Wasilla area private mailbox entrepreneur stated he believes location is one of the reasons for the vandalism-thefts.

"It is very rare that we can build new CBU locations within subdivisions. The reason is it increases the Post Office’s cost for delivery. Contract carriers are paid by distance traveled. That means CBU's are limited to being installed along existing routes, often away from the homes they serve. We have some where the home is five miles from the box," Lapiene posted.

Lapiene said local postmasters are not authorized to extend contract carriers’ routes and rules are set by the district office. Lapiene said if there is anything to come out of this rash, he hopes the USPS district office in Anchorage to acknowledge the growth in the valley and ease the rules on where CBUs can be installed.

Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said the department has received approximately 20 mailbox vandalism reports in the past two months.

USPS response

According to US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), mailboxes are considered federal property and federal law has jurisdiction in such matters. Violators can be fined up to $250,000 and jailed up to three years for each offense. USPIS does have a website to report vandalism-theft issues and obtain additional information--https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/MailFraud/fraudschemes/mailtheft/ReportMailTheft.aspx. Those wishing to contact the regional USPIS office in Seattle should call 877-876-2455.

Jacob Gholson out of the USPIS Anchorage district office stated given the Mat-Su's size and number of boxes, and limited manpower, it's not feasible to "stake out" each CBU or CBU cluster. He encouraged individuals to install security or trail cameras and to provide any leads to his office. He acknowledged there are active investigations ongoing with valley law enforcement personnel.