MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Surveillance video caught someone lifting letters in Miami Beach, and video showed this may not be the first time.
A man was caught on camera sneaking into a Miami Beach building, prying open mailboxes and all signs point to a serial thief with years of experience.
“It’s crazy to think that somebody can just do that,” said Paula Herman.
Herman is among his latest victims.
“As soon as the doors opened from the elevator, this is what I saw,” said Herman. “This is my mailbox, but it’s hard to say what he took.”
The crime was caught on camera March 6 at 1345 West Avenue, surveillance video shows him milling around the door then following a resident inside.
“Looked like a total gentleman, so nobody suspected who he was or what his purpose in the building was,” said Herman.
After taking a ride in the elevator to blend in, he returned to the lobby, and when the coast was clear, he got to work.
“He literally, with a tool, starts prying open this door, then this door,” said Herman. “He actually grabs with his hands and pulls it, physically pulls it.”
After this video made the rounds, residents made a connection.
Turns out this is the same thief featured on 7News in August of 2020.
In that case, he posed as a FedEx worker and hit a building at 1670 Lincoln Court. His build and M-O also matched this guy spotted stealing mail at the sales condos at 1404 Bay Road just last February.
“It’s really scary to think that someone can actually pry open, like physically pry open, the mailboxes and steal a whole box full of mail,” said Herman.
She is hoping her neighbors will keep an eye out and help authorities catch him before he strikes again.
“This is affecting the whole community, and it’s making it a very unsafe environment for people who have lived here a very long time, it’s really nerve-racking,” said Herman.
If you have any information om the man or were a victim of mail theft, call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.
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