"Why on Earth would anybody want to subject themselves to a felony for my coupons?" a neighbor Dean Bach said.
A Gaylord man in serious trouble after deputies say he took the mail right out of people’s mailboxes.
Otsego County deputies arrested the man a few weeks ago at his Gaylord home.
They say it was filled with other people’s mail all taken from boxes in the neighborhood near Wah-Wah-Soo Dr. by Otsego Lake.
9 & 10’s Blayke Roznowski and photojournalist Noah Jurik have more details on the mail theft and what neighbors have to say.
"We should probably be looking out more often because there are people out there that might want what’s in your mailbox," Bach said.
Around 35 homes with mail for more than 50 people all had mail stolen a few weeks ago in the neighborhood around Otsego Lake.
"Civilian, not in any way affiliated with the postal service," Otsego County prosecutor Brendan Curran said.
The prosecutor says that somebody called 911 when he saw somebody opening up mailboxes and taking what was inside.
"Police responded to the address that came back to the license plate that was given to them," Curran said.
The deputy who arrested the man says when he showed up, the suspect was sorting through the mail.
"There was a significant volume of mail that was recovered by the police," Curran said. "I know a number of policemen spent a good, long time sorting it all out."
The mail was returned to everyone and although Dean Bach says his mail wasn’t stolen, he can’t believe it happened.
"Why the heck would anybody want what’s in my mailbox? Really, I mean there’s nothing in there but bills and coupons," Bach said.
It’s not only frustrating that someone could have gotten away with valuable packages, but that they targeted an area with homes that aren’t always occupied.
"Taking advantage of that situation is just a bad thing for the neighborhood. We want to be able to trust everybody," Bach said.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service was notified and the Otsego County prosecutor authorized five counts of larceny under $500 dollars.
The suspect will be arraigned later this month.
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