The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office is warning homeowners to pay special attention to their mail following an increase in mail theft complaints in the county. The thieves are specifically targeting letters containing containing cash and checks, officials say.
Clarkesville Post Office Supervisor Leslie Gailey says theives have been stealing mail on the northern end of the county, primarily in the area of Alec Mountain, Zeb Bryson, Amy’s Creek, and Piedmont Mountain roads. Gailey says the increased reporting does not necessarily indicate an increase in thefts, only that the thefts are more concentrated.
“It happens over different times in certain areas,” he explains. “The increase in complaints is because it’s happening in a specific area. More people are complaining at once.”
Three years ago someone was stealing mail in Alto and Baldwin. Mail thieves generally work in a neighborhood for “two or three days” until they get caught, “and then it happens somewhere else,” Gailey says.
Suspicions and suspects
Two recent incidents, cited in sheriff’s office reports, shed some light on how these mail theives operate.
On July 20, a Clarkesville area woman filed a complaint after her husband went to get their mail around 3 o’clock that afternoon. He reported seeing “a white Chevrolet work van going through people’s mailboxes.” The woman told authorities she did not know what was missing from their mailbox but she suspected it had been going on for some time. She said they would sometimes go for days without receiving any mail.
According to another incident report, on August 9, a Demorest homeowner advised he had placed $30 in cash in an envelope to pay a bill. His mail carrier later notified him that “there was an unsealed envelope laying on the ground with the contents missing in front of his mailbox.”
Gailey’s personally picked up mail from ditches in areas now being targeted.
“They’ll get the mail out of two or three mailboxes then go to a road two or three miles away, get what they want, and throw the rest away in a ditch,” he says.
Sometimes, thieves hoard the stolen mail.
In February, local law enforcement officials say they recovered approximately 100 pieces of stolen mail from a man named Dylan Shope. A 911 caller saw Shope standing in the rain and asked authorities to check on him.
Shope has a long list of priors dating back to 2014. He was out of jail when he was seriously injured earlier this month while fleeing a traffic stop on GA 365 in Mt. Airy. At the time, law enforcement had active warrants out on him in Habersham and White counties for first-degree burglary and identity fraud.
Helen Police arrested Kristopher Beasley of Clarkesville for mail theft in 2020. Police arrested him after someone called 911 to report him as a suspicious person. When police took him into custody, officers said they found three 30-gallon trash bags of mail in his car.
In both cases, thieves targeted postal customers in Habersham County. They also stole mail from surrounding Northeast Georgia communities and, in Shope’s case, even as far as Port Richey, Florida.
Guarding your mail
Gailey writes letters to people whose mail he’s recovered, letting them know “we found the mail” and advising them on how to prevent future thefts.
He advises homeowners to, “Check your mail daily to empty your mailbox. Don’t leave mail in the box overnight.”
The sheriff’s office, too, is advising homeowners on how to guard their mail, offering tips in a social media post.
“If you need to submit a payment for a bill through the mail, please consider taking it to the post office and dropping it off rather than placing it in your mailbox,” the post states.
“We just want to encourage citizens to remain diligent in utilizing alternative methods of paying bills,” says HCSO Col. Murray Kogod.
For those unable to get to the post office, Gailey encourages them to “wait as late as possible to put your outgoing mail in the mailbox.” The less time it stays in the box, the harder it will be for thieves to steal it.
People should watch for strange vehicles at mailboxes too. Mail carriers equip their vehicles with flashing lights and signs identifying them as U.S. Postal workers.
Gailey urges, “If you see anything suspicious – if you see somebody unusual prowling around on you’re road – call the sheriffs office to report it.”
