Mail theft on rise: Problem plaguing not just High Desert, but all of Southern California

VICTORVILLE — Oak Hills resident Tim Hill snapped photos of his damaged community mailbox on Thursday and took a trip to the U.S. Post Office in Hesperia to put a hold on his mail.

Hill, who thought his community mailbox in the Summit Hills area had been broken into Wednesday night, was surprised when a Post Office employee handed him three days worth of mail. "The employee told me that this happened three days ago and handed me three days worth of mail," Hill said. "This is the second time our box has been broken into. This first happened in December. That got fixed and then here we are some weeks later and lowlifes who don't want to work damage our box again."

Hill wasn't the only one at the Post Office who left with a handful of mail that was undeliverable.

Phelan resident Myra Avina brought her two young children to collect her mail because several community mailboxes off of Phelan Road had been recently damaged.

Avina gave mail thieves the benefit of the doubt and believes strong winds are the culprit.

Regardless of how the boxes were damaged, many High Desert residents are forced to drive to their local Post Office because their mail is undeliverable.

One local United States Postal Service employee who declined to give his name told the Daily Press this is a problem that is "plaguing" not just the High Desert, but just about every community in Southern California.

Mail theft has been on the rise nationwide and crooks have become more brazen in their tactics in prying open community mailbox doors to steal mail. In one instance locally, thieves stole an entire community mailbox.