After Police Chief Matt Hamner held a press conference to help alert citizens about a spate of burglaries, car thefts, car prowls, and mail theft, the BIPD arrested a suspect, 21-year-old Aaron Michaels Bylsma, on December 17. But since then, the mail thefts have continued.
Some of these mail thefts include the damaging of locking mailboxes. Early in the morning on the day after Bylsma’s arrest, a newspaper deliveryperson noticed that two locking mailboxes were hanging open on Agate Point Road. At about 9, Officer Jeff Benkert followed up with the residents. On one box there was a small indentation about the size of a screwdriver head. The latch from the locking mechanism was lying on the ground and had been sheared off. The box was valued at $150. The latch on the other box had been bent to a 30-degree angle. That box was valued at $100.
That same day, a Bainbridge resident reported to police that a check in the amount of $390.08 that he had mailed never reached its destination and was deposited instead at City National Bank. The check writer needed a police report to be filed.
On the 20th, an Agatewood resident was unable to open her locking box. It appeared as if someone had tried to pry it open. She was unable to get her key into the lock. Then on the 24th, a woman reported that someone had jammed a piece of metal into the lock of her mailbox, preventing her from being able to open it. Replacement was estimated at $75.
Lots of other mail was taken from nonlocking boxes. On the 18th, a Roe Road resident told Officer Mo Stich he had been expecting a package from eBay. He said he had ordered the items on December 6 and they had supposedly been delivered on the 11th. He assumed they had been taken from his mailbox. The total loss was $25.
That night, three checks were stolen from a Crystal Springs mailbox. The reporting party said his neighbors had had their mail stolen the previous week. That week, he had seen an unfamiliar person walking on the street after 10 p.m. The person was over 6 feet and over 200 pounds and was dressed all in black, in a hooded jacket. The man noticed him because the guy had no lights, no reflective clothing, and no dog on a leash.
A Dolphin Drive resident told Officer Jeff Benkert that the morning of the 19th around 8, he saw that his mailbox was wide open and empty. He said he thought he hadn’t been receiving all his mail for several weeks. He only knew for sure of one bill that he had never received—he knew because the service provider was threatening to cut service because he hadn’t paid the bill. Another Dolphin Drive resident told Officer Ben Sias that he had suffered a string of mail thefts. Last year he had not received a Netflix movie and last month he had not received an insurance check. Another check sent on December 3 was not received either. Neither check had been cashed.
On December 21, Officer Victor Cienega met with a woman on Crystal Springs who said she had been out walking her dog, and in the Point White parking lot she had found a bunch of mail lying next to the garbage can. She provided Cienega with the mail. She said she had found it at about 9 a.m. The mail was damp. Cienega sorted it and delivered 14 pieces of it to six victims. He was unable to make contact with 10 other victims. He delivered the rest to the post office. Some opened pieces were placed into evidence as they could not be delivered in their condition.
On Christmas Eve, a Crystal Springs resident saw a 14- to 16-year-old male wearing a blue-green jacket, stocking cap, and jeans and carrying a large white duffel bag near her house. The next day at about 6:20 in the morning, she checked her box and it was empty. She contacted the post office and was told mail had indeed been delivered the night before.
Related Stories
- Bainbridge Car Prowl and Burglary Suspect in Custody
- A Week of “Soft Target” Prowls and Burglaries
- Chief Hamner Holds Press Conference to Warn Public About Recent Surge in Crime
Photo by Alan Levine.
