A postal worker faced a double whammy Thursday: thieves broke into his truck while he was making deliveries in a Fremont neighborhood — then, when he returned to the post office where he parked, he discovered that his own car was gone.
“I was finishing up my shift for the day,” the letter carrier said. “Last street of my route.”
The carrier — who asked NBC Bay Area not to reveal his identity — said it happened at around 4:15 p.m. Thursday. He was returning to his truck when he noticed something was wrong.
“I immediately noticed that all my belongings that I had in there were missing. My phone, my wallet, my car keys, my air pods, my portable charger. And even some mail that I was like — people’s outgoing mail — that I was bringing back was taken,” he said.
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He was able to use a neighbor’s cell phone to make calls, including to the police. Then he drove back to the Irvington post office where he had parked his own car earlier in the day. That’s when the situation got even worse.
“As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed that my own personal vehicle was missing,” he said. “They took my car keys from the work truck and then they took my car from my workplace parking lot.”
He said his family needs the car.
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“I was pretty upset. I was pretty angry at first,” he said.
“The Fremont police department responded, postal inspectors responded. We’re actively working this investigation,” said Postal Inspector Jeff Fitch, who works with the law enforcement arm of the post office.
Fitch added: “The postal vehicle was broken into. We’re still trying to determine exactly what was taken. But for breaking into the vehicle and taking US mail, the reward has gone up. The original reward for these kind of vehicle break-ins and taking mail — stealing mail was $10,000. Now it’s $100,000.”
In recent months, NBC Bay Area has reported on a number of mail carriers being targeted for their mailbox keys. This time it was just the truck — but the carrier is warning his colleagues to be on alert.
“I just want to make sure everyone is being safe and being aware,” he said.
