Landlord hopes security cam investment will pay off in mail theft investigation

Bruce Hall was unimpressed when his apartment building first became the target of letter thieves last Wednesday, July 27.

“My wife and I were out of town when this happened and so I got a text from one of my tenants saying that it had been broken into,” Hall said.

“We immediately went online and looked at the video, we could see what happened.”

Two security cameras caught a male and female suspect in action as they walked into the building, pried open the mailboxes and left with the tenant’s mail.

Hall sent the surveillance video to police, but the thieves came back three more times.

“They had a key, I don’t recognize them as a past tenant, so somebody that was here must have given them a key from previous,” Hall said. “We’ve also changed the locks on here so anybody that’s had a key in the past, that no longer works.”

The situation has made Hall’s tenants uneasy, knowing their personal property was swiped by someone who didn’t belong in the building.

“I’ve actually got two tenants that have been unnerved by it and have said that they just don’t feel secure and they’re going to be moving out,” Hall said.

Police are hoping anyone with information about the suspects appearing in the video will come forward.

The male suspect is described as white, tall, with a thin build, wearing a red ball cap and an Oklahoma City Thunder #35 Durant basketball jersey, black shorts and white runners. He was carrying a blue and black back-pack.

The female suspect, who appeared to be acting as a look-out while the thefts were underway, is described as white, having long brown hair, wearing an orange summer top, black shorts and flip flops. She was carrying a large black purse.

Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says mail theft is a serious crime, with potentially devastating outcomes for the victims.

“If they get the person’s full name, address, if they can get either a birth date or social insurance number they can apply for credit cards or start ordering things over the internet, which can cause a lot of grief for that person,” Shelkie said. “The other thing is they might be looking for cheques that have come in the mail, or for gift cards or money that is sent in the mail. So it’s both to steal directly from the person, and also to steal their identity.”

That’s something Hall doesn’t want to see happen to his tenants, and he’s working hard to make sure his building isn’t targeted again.

“We do everything we can,” he said. “We live on the residence, we’re here, we’re monitoring, change the locks, do whatever we can to make it a secure, safe place as we possibly can.”

WATCH: Exclusive surveillance video obtained by CFJC Today

by Jill Sperling / Chad Harris

Landlord hopes security cam investment will pay off in mail theft investigation

WATCH: Full report by Jill Sperling

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