Updated at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19
Hillside residents can breathe a sigh of relief today, as the Anchorage Police Department announced they have caught the person who has been stealing their mail for months.
APD and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service have identified 27-year-old Evan Ryan Mullen as the alleged thief. According to the release, Mullen stole mail from mailboxes located on Ginami Street and Upper Huffman in January and later used credit cards from the theft.
Mullen was indicted on one felony count of access device fraud and one felony count of mail theft earlier this week.
A federal warrant was issued for Mullen’s arrest. Police arrested him this morning and took him to the Anchorage Jail.
The investigation into this crime was a joint effort by APD, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Hillside residents are frustrated. They say their mailboxes are getting hit by thieves two or three times every week.
“We just want our mail,” said theft victim Reva Katz, who’s lost everything from Christmas cards to her husband’s heart medication. ”I don’t have that long left. I have better things to do than worry about the mail.”
It’s a feeling her neighbors, like Jillian Simpson, share.
“It definitely makes me feel very vulnerable,” Simpson said. “I initially think it’s just a one-off thing, just somebody random doing it, but now realizing that it’s a very targeted, planned thing that’s happening and continues to happen.”
Their mail has been disappearing regularly since November. Calls to the Postal Inspector and the police have had no impact.
“We feel violated and we’re frustrated and there’s been, from our perception, no action on it,” Simpson said.
“They tell us buy lock boxes — $200 a piece,” Katz said. “Or buy one of those [cluster mail box]. That’s $400 a person. That’s half my disability check.”
The Postal Inspector said they are investigating the theft, which is a federal crime, and they understand people’s frustrations. They said victims can help by reporting specific dates their mail goes missing. Also, report stolen items that are trackable, like credit cards, gift cards and checks. That way, the inspector can see if someone tries to use them.
Dawn Peppinger, marketing manager for the U.S. Postal Service Alaska district said there’s other things people can do to protect themselves: Check your mailbox right after delivery, don’t leave mail out overnight and if you’re going to be away for a few days, put your mail on hold.
Peppinger said you can also rent a PO box at a post office for around $100 every six months.
“It’s in the building. They have to have a key to access the box and so we promote PO boxes as a secure way to get your mail,” Peppinger said.
Katz said they shouldn’t have to go that far to protect their mail. She said she’d like to see the mailboxes moved so they are in front of each person’s house, rather than clustered together at the end of the street. That would allow people to keep an eye on their box and make them less of an easy target for thieves.
To report stolen mail, go to the Postal Inspector’s website or call 1-877-876-2455.
If you see someone suspicious around your mailbox, you’re asked to call police.
