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Article Courtesy of Local 10
News
By Terrell Forney
Published May 11, 2026
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WATCH VIDEO |
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PLANTATION — Residents in a Plantation neighborhood say they’ve been the victims
of mail theft for several years.
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Those residents of the Plantation Trace
development, located along the 700 block of 132nd Avenue,
are upset because they say the U.S. Postal Service isn’t
doing anything about it.
Recently, under the cover of night, security cameras
captured a car reversing into a parking space next to a row
of mailboxes. Seconds later, a pair of hooded subjects
emerged.
It’s clear the crooks were able to gain access to the
mailbox quickly before getting away with mail belonging to
the residents.
“It’s a little intrusive,” said resident Alex Ruane. “The
first time we got something materialistic stolen, but then
we started hearing credit cards coming up in people’s names
and IRS papers and things like that. It’s a little bit of a
scary feeling.”
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Ruane is one of many residents inside the development who have fallen victim to
this crime, a cycle that’s been repeated five times over the past two years.
“What’s the resolution? There isn’t one, so we ended up spending HOA funds to
put up cameras, license plate readers, and that’s how we caught the car the last
time it happened,” said Ruane.
Carli Pierson is the attorney representing the Plantation Trace Homeowners
Association.
“This is being perpetrated by an organized criminal enterprise,” said Pierson.
“They move quickly and they clearly have access to some kind of a master key.”
Pierson has helped to guide property owners on how to properly report the thefts
with police and the U.S. Postal Inspector, but every effort to curb the crime so
far has hit a wall.
“We can’t change the locks on the mailboxes ourselves because that’s tampering,
which is a federal offense, and the postal service won’t tell the community when
they’re gonna change the locks, so they’re just sitting there like a sitting
duck,” Pierson said.
Residents are hoping the video of this latest heist will help bring the crooks
to justice.
“I don’t wanna ship things to my house,” said Ruane. “If I’m gonna buy
something, am I gonna send it somewhere else? Am I gonna send it to my husband’s
business or my parents’ house where I don’t have to worry about it getting
stolen?”
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