After weeks of complaints about stolen mail, residents at one West Miami-Dade apartment complex decided enough was enough and installed new surveillance cameras, hoping to stop the string of mail thefts.
Less than 24 hours later, they caught the suspected thief in the act.
The surveillance cameras in the neighborhood were installed to try to deter crime, but this time, the cameras caught it.
Now, police are trying to identify the man seen on video stealing mail from the apartment complex.
In the surveillance video, a man was seen riding his bike into the parking lot of the Parkside of Fontainebleau apartment complex
Moments later, he’s seen in front of the community mailboxes. He looks over his shoulder, takes a few seconds to try and yank open the mailbox panel, and then he opens it.
The man was then seen stuffing mail into a bag and riding away.
NBC6 on Saturday spoke to the man who installed the cameras.
“So they contacted me about two weeks ago, and we actually finished the job Thursday, and we caught this guy at 2:35 in the morning on Friday,” Henry Lorie said.
Lorie owns the company that installed the cameras after residents complained about repeated mail thefts.
You have to be a fool to walk up to this mailbox and not see two cameras,” he said. “So obviously he was confident that nothing was going to happen.”
Jorge Miranda, a resident, said someone stole his mail just weeks ago.
“When I got back in the morning to pick up the mail, the door was open, and my mail was gone,” Miranda said,
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He told NBC6 that his missing mail was mostly ads, but he knows neighbors who weren’t as lucky.
“I know somebody in this building that lost, that took, they took a credit card, and they started charging on the credit card,” he said.
Miranda said he feels relieved that investigators have at least a clear image of the suspect.
“At least they caught him on video,” he said. “At least they know what it looks like. I’m pretty, pretty happy about that. I’m sure they’re gonna, they’re gonna deal with him.”
And he joins other residents in hoping the video serves as a warning to others to protect themselves.
“Be on the lookout and be very careful, and pick up your mail as quickly as possible,” he said. ‘Don’t wait until the next day because that’s when they take advantage of that.”
If you recognize the man in the video, you’re asked to call the Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at 305-471-tips. You can remain anonymous.
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