4 arrested in stolen mail case

Two men and two women, all from Bakersfield, face several criminal charges including mail theft, drug and conspiracy after deputies followed up on reports of a “suspicious vehicle” in shopping center parking lot in Castaic.

The conspiracy charge relates to the group’s allegedly planned efforts to vandalize mailboxes, steal personal information from the stolen mail and then exploit those identities, said Shirley Miller, sheriff’s spokeswoman.

“They had all the tools,” she said. “They were going to vandalize mailboxes. That was their agenda.”

On Tuesday afternoon, deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to the 26800 block of The Old Road on Tuesday afternoon to check out a suspicious vehicle, Miller said.

“The occupants of the vehicle, two men and two women, in their 20s to 30s, were found to be in possession of at least a dozen credit cards that were not in their names, mail that didn’t belong to them, methamphetamine and burglary tools commonly used to break into group mailboxes,” she said.

Deputies arrested all four adults on a range of charges including vandalism, theft, narcotics and conspiracy. The suspects were booked and transported to SCV Sheriff’s Station, she said.

Three of the suspects were described by deputies as unemployed. One of them, a 32-year-old man, was identified as having worked in construction.

She wants people to know that if they witness any suspicious activity near mailboxes, to call the SCV Sheriff Station at 661-255-1121, Miller said.

“Be a good witness and try to provide a detailed vehicle description and/or description of suspect,” she said.

And, she wants residents to know that deputies cannot view neighbor discussions on apps, such as NextDoor.

If someone has concerns about mail theft, they should share that information with the crime prevention deputy assigned to your area. Contact information may be found at http://scvsheriff.com/zone-leaders.

“They had all the tools. They were going to vandalize mailboxes. That was their agenda.”

Shirley Miller, sheriff’s spokeswoman