Frustrated by repeated thefts from her mailbox, a fed-up California woman placed an AirTag in a package she sent to herself, leading to the arrest of two suspects in a mail theft case.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office reported on Aug. 20 that an anonymous woman, after repeatedly having her mail stolen from a mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office, mailed herself a package with an AirTag locator in hopes of catching the thieves.
Her plan worked.
Deputies responded to a mail theft report at the post office on Aug. 19 around 7:17 a.m. Upon arrival, they learned that the victim’s mail, including the package with the AirTag, had been stolen again that morning and was being tracked.
The suspects were located in the 600 block of E. Sunrise Dr. in Santa Maria and found with the victim’s mail, including the AirTagged package, along with items believed to be stolen from more than a dozen other victims, according to authorities.
“The Sheriff’s Office would like to commend the victim for her proactive solution, while highlighting that she also exercised appropriate caution by contacting law enforcement to safely and successfully apprehend the suspects,” the law enforcement agency said in a press release.
The suspects have been identified as 27-year-old Virginia Franchessca Lara from Santa Maria and 37-year-old Donald Ashton Terry from Riverside.
Lara is facing multiple felony charges, including possession of fraudulent checks, identity theft, credit card theft, and conspiracy. She is currently held on bail set at $50,000.
Terry is charged with the same felonies and an additional burglary charge. He is being held on $460,000 bail.
Raquel Zick, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told The Epoch Times on Aug. 21 that the male suspect also had outstanding warrants from Riverside County for similar crimes. He will be transferred to Riverside County authorities once the Santa Barbara County case is resolved.
Zick said the sheriff’s office is also tracing the names on other stolen packages to identify additional victims.
She said the law enforcement agency encourages residents to use similar methods to protect their mail from theft. Additional suggestions include using locked delivery options, avoiding leaving packages on porches, having packages delivered to the post office or picked up by neighbors when away, and switching to paperless statements for sensitive information.
The AirTag method has also successfully helped track down other thefts. Last December, a Newport Beach nursery owner used AirTags to trace and catch an alleged thief accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of items from his business over multiple weeks.
