Published May 16 2016
For the second week in a row, Bellevue police arrested suspected mail thieves in the midst of pilfering parcels. Shortly before 4 a.m. on Sunday, an officer patrolling the 16400 block of Southeast Newport Way saw a vehicle by a mailbox. When he began following the vehicle, he saw several pieces of mail fly out of the windows.
When the officer stopped the vehicle, he found stolen mail for 12 residents in the Cougar Hills neighborhood, including two stolen packages. The vehicle the suspects were driving turned out to be stolen.
The suspects, a 34-year-old Tacoma man and a 38-year-old Kent woman, were both arrested for investigation of mail theft and vehicle theft, and booked into the King County Jail.
Mail theft is common and can be prevented by purchasing a locking mailbox and removing mail from your mailbox on a daily basis.