The Lochwood Neighborhood Association installed the surveillance on a tree camera after KENS 5’s first story in December.
SAN ANTONIO — Thieves have returned to a small northwest side neighborhood, although this time the perpetrators were caught on camera.
The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the 6400 block of Lochglen near Hollyhock road.
A man wearing a dark colored cap exits a tan sedan and is seen using what it appears to be a key and another device to pry open the back of the cluster mailbox. The individual spends nearly two minutes sifting through the mailbox before closing the contraption and taking off with a handful of mail.
Robert Rosales stressed he’s dumbfounded by the brazen nature of such activity.
“We got him in the act. That’s the best thing. Video and pictures don’t lie,” Rosales said. “The thief took his sweet time there. We were kind of astonished. One of our board members called me early in the morning and said we got him on video.”
A number of residents have been victims of mail theft in the Lochwood Neighborhood Association and surrounding communities.
“That’s why we see these people out here. They’re concerned, they’re getting tired of it. Several of them have been victims of this fraud here.”
John Foster lives in a nearby neighborhood and has experienced a similar pattern of people breaking into the aged cluster mailboxes.
“They open up, take the mail out. Most of the time they don’t bother to close it,” Foster said. “We know it happens middle of the morning, one o’clock, two o’clock.”
In December, KENS 5 reported on a rash of mail theft impacting those living within the Lochwood Neighborhood Association.
At the time, the association did not have a surveillance camera installed.
The USPS noted the “mailboxes are operational, and mail is being delivered daily,” without directly addressing residential concerns on any potential remedy.
Several residents demanded replacement cluster mailboxes as the decrepit boxes stand at least 30 years old.
USPS did not respond to requests for comment in time for broadcast on Jan. 1.
Meantime, neighbors are hopeful with the thieves being caught on camera, that USPS will treat their concerns with more urgency.
“We want this box secured better. They could put a bar across it,” Rosales said.
“I hope for it to stop. It’s a violation of our rights,” Foster said.