‘Large amount of stolen mail’ found after resident confronts accused thieves, CA cops say
A “large amount of stolen mail” was found after a resident driving home confronted three men accused of stealing from a mailbox, California police say.
The Hollister resident was driving home just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, when he spotted “three men stealing mail from the community mailbox,” which has had multiple thefts over the past year, the Hollister Police Department said in a Dec. 8 news release.
After getting out of his car, the man started photographing the suspects with his cellphone, police said.
Then, the men attacked the resident, stole his phone and tried to steal his wallet, police said.
The man, however, knocked one of the suspects to the ground, “essentially knocking one of the suspects out of his shoe,” and escaped to safety, according to police.
The three suspects drove away from the area, police said.
Shortly after, the resident found an officer driving in the area and flagged him down, police said.
He told the officer about the incident and provided a detailed description of the suspects’ car, police said.
As the officer was driving toward where the car was last seen, he spotted the car “driving at a high rate of speed,” police said.
The officer called dispatch about the incident and coordinated with additional Hollister officers and the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, according to police.
The car was pulled over during a “high risk” stop, police said.
While searching the suspects’ car, officers found “a large amount of stolen mail, Post Office keys, homemade keys, a lockpick set, drugs, the broken phone of the witness,” police said.
Two Fresno men and one Clovis man were arrested and charged with multiple felonies, police said, adding that evidence inside the car also tied the men to mail thefts in the Fresno area.
The Hollister office of the Post Master General will determine if the men are suspects in any additional mail thefts, according to police.
Police said they have returned some of the stolen mail but are still working to return the remaining mail.
Any residents who live on Cabrillo Drive, Brigantino Drive, Marbella Circle, Cielo Court or Blenheim Court and believe they may have had their mail stolen, should contact police at 831-636-4330.
