Townhome residents frustrated after at least 6 cases of mail theft in a year

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A community in the Champions area is left feeling hopeless after they say thieves have hit their cluster mailbox at least six or seven times in the last year.

Jim Penn, president of the HOA for the Kings Row Townhome Community located on Champions Drive, said they do not know what to do about the problem.

He has had two driver's licenses sent to him stolen. Penn said he finally had to have it delivered to a friend's house nearby.

They have also gotten reports from residents in the 16-unit community having their insurance cards, tax bills, and packages taken.

Penn said they have reported it to law enforcement and the postal service and have not gotten a helpful response.

"We know it's being broken into, but how do you stop it?" Penn asked. "That's the big question."

One resident who lives directly across from the cluster mailbox installed a camera that points directly at the box, hoping to deter thieves.

Since installing the camera, he has caught two instances of theft.

"They're pretty bold. For that matter, they really don't seem to care that somebody's watching," Penn said.

The first was in July and shows two men show up in a BMW SUV and stop right in front of the box. One man gets out and uses the master key to pop open the boxes and steal mail.

The second was last Saturday in broad daylight. A man rides up on a scooter and uses a master key to open the boxes, takes the mail, and rides off.

"We're just a small unit," Penn explained. "We've only got 16 boxes. Some of these apartment complexes are very large. We're probably just a stop on the way on their route."

The master key used to open the cluster boxes is referred to by USPS as an "arrow key."

Penn said the obvious answer to the problem would be to re-key the mailbox, but they cannot because it is postal property.

As Penn and his neighbors look for a solution, they have resorted to a group message to let each other know when the mail arrives so they can hopefully beat the thieves to it.

"You kind of trust the post office to get your mail to you, and then it doesn't show up. It's not your fault, but you're the one who has to deal with it," Penn said.

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