SAN BENITO — Residents who dropped off mail at the San Benito Post Office’s outside box Saturday morning are encouraged to contact the office.
Your mail might have been either burned or destroyed after someone vandalized the drop-off box.
On Saturday, around 7:02 p.m., police received a report of an outside mailbox that was smoking or on fire.
“The fire department arrived first and extinguished the possible fire before officers arrived,” said Police Chief Michael Galvan. “The Postal Inspector was notified due to it being federal property.”
According to LegalBeagle.com, tampering with U.S. mail refers to the willful theft, destruction or opening of the mail of another person without their consent.
Because mail delivery is the duty of the U.S. Postal Service, mail tampering laws are federal, and mail tampering is considered a federal offense.
The penalties for mail tampering can vary, both in terms of prison sentences and fines, the website stated.
San Benito police have handed over the investigation to the postal service, which has its own investigators.
They are now on the case.
“If anyone mailed anything around that time, it would be a good idea to contact the post office,” Galvan said.
The damaged mail was collected.
“It would also be a good idea to contact any potential recipients of your mail to see if they did receive what was mailed and if not make arrangements to resend that mail such as bills or credit card payments,” Galvan said.
“It would be a good idea to call and verify before you accumulate late fees or get a utility disconnected, etc.”
If anyone would like to file a police report, Galvan said it will be made available to customers at no charge.
Meanwhile, signs have been posted in and around the post office alerting the community to the incident.
