Mail theft at El Verano Post Office

Residents of the El Verano area discovered on Monday that their neighborhood post office, at Laurel and Bay streets, had been broken into over the weekend and that some mail may have been stolen.

According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, an individual or individuals entered the building through the open front door, which is always unlocked to allow customers to access their mail boxes. The door to the back rooms was then damaged, allowing the suspects to enter the main postal facility.

Some of the post office boxes had been broken into and damaged. Surveillance video and other evidence is being gathered and reviewed, said Juan Valencia of the sheriff’s office.

The exact time of the break-in is unknown; it was reported on Monday morning, June 15, when employees came to work.

Customers posted messages on social media about receiving damaged packages, or not receiving packages they had been told were delivered, or not receiving mail they were expecting. On Wednesday, the Valley of the Moon Water District informed its customers of the possible loss of payment checks, which are routed through the El Verano Post Office.

“It is a little early to tell exactly how many have been affected, but we have already had a few customers call us to let us know they were canceling their checks to the district and reissuing payments,” said Chris Petlock, administration and finance manager of the VOMWD.

Petlock said that the water district will be working with “possibly hundreds” of customers over the next few weeks as checks go uncleared and non-payment notices are issued. He added that “obviously no one will incur any fees or penalties that can occur with canceled or disavowed checks related to this matter.”

Postal inspector Jeff Fitch said the investigation was in its early stages, but he was quick to point out that it is a federal crime to steal or tamper with U.S. mail. The Postal Service has a standing reward policy of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

“If anybody mailed something around that time, they can contact us to get a complaint in the system,” said Fitch. “If anybody mailed checks or paid bills around that time, and is seeing something suspicious in their accounts in the next two to three weeks, have them contact us with the additional evidence.”

The 24-hour dispatch number is 877-876-2455 for all suspected burglary, fraud or other postal crimes.

“This is early in the investigation, there’ll be more information to come out later,” said Fitch.

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.