Neighbor says his mail keeps getting stolen after video shows man clearing out mailbox

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a video you'll only see on ABC13. A brazen thief cleared out a neighborhood's cluster of mailboxes in just one minute.

"I've been losing mail!" Simon Salinas said.

Junk mail, bills, and packages with car parts - Salinas told ABC13 he's sick and tired of seeing his neighborhood's cluster mailbox open and empty.

"They come in the morning, early in the morning," Salinas said.

In a video captured by Salinas, you watch as a dark-colored truck pulls up alongside the cluster mailbox. A passenger jumps out, and in just about one minute, they've cleared out the mailbox. It happened so many times, Salinas said he felt he had to do something, and installed a camera with the sole purpose of catching the thieves.

Salinas said this cluster mailbox has been hit twice in the last week, with the most recent happening this weekend. In fact, the mailbox was empty, wide open, and discarded mail was on the ground when we got there.

Salinas said he reported the apparent theft to USPS and the Harris County Sheriff's Office, but so far, no charges have been pressed. Eventually, Salinas decided to call ABC13.

"Then I called y'all. I said, 'Well, they're not doing anything. Maybe y'all can do something,'" Salinas said.

ABC13 reported in March that dozens of USPS mailboxes were unaccounted for, putting more than 20,000 cluster mailboxes at risk. A career mail carrier himself, Salinas said he's concerned about people's personal information and mail being stolen, but he also worries about the mail carrier who may be targeted for their master keys.

"That key's not worth your life," Salinas said.

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