$10,000 Reward in LaCoste Post Office burglary

The US Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) who burglarized the La Coste Post Office.
Authorities believe the burglary occured in the early morning hours of Sunday, January 3, between the hours of 2am-6am. To make entry, the burglar(s) busted a hole in the wall that was just big enough to climb through, and they exited the back door.
A delivery truck driver actually discovered the burglary Monday morning.
The ongoing investigation to nail the suspect(s) who burglarlized the LaCoste Post Office keeps getting bigger and bigger as the LaCoste Police Office forwards new reports of mail theft and/or identity theft to the US Postal Inspector, who is conducting the investigation.
“It’s still a very fresh and ongoing investigation,” said LaCoste Police Chief Richard Gonzales. “Some mail has been recovered, and there are numerous identity theft cases going on that are related to this case.”
Several victims of mail theft and identity theft related to this burglary have been identified, but the USPIS cannot release any specific numbers at this time.
Police Chief Gonzales urges LaCoste residents to check with your bank for any suspicious activity or charges, as they have had several reports of checks being duplicated.
The reality is it’s hard to know exactly how many articles of mail and packages were stolen that morning.
Post Office burglaries appear to be becoming somewhat of a scary trend in our local area, as we’ve seen two other South Texas Post Offices burglarized this past November in St. Hedwig and Bulverde. In addition to that there was a failed attempt to break into the Lavernia Post Office in the same time-frame as the St. Hedwig PO burglary.
“This is not something we routinely see,” Martinez said. “When we do see it it’s usually sporadic, but we take it very seriously.”
When asked if the 3 post office burglaries could be related, Martinez stated that “its’ a potential, but we are still investigation that possibility.”
The USPIS is in the process of contacting the senders and recipients of the stolen mail to see what was taken. If you have questions about your package, you should contact your local post office.
Authorites do have leads on the case, though no arrests have been made yet. Suspect(s) have been identified, but the number of suspects is not being released.
“We still need the public’s help,” said USPIS San Antonio Team Leader Martinez.”Anyone with information can call 877-876-2455, which is avaialble 24 hours a day.”
The USPIS is offering $10,000 in each case for information leading to an arrest and conviction. If prosecuted, the suspects charged with 5 years for each individual act of burglaries they are tied to. Suspects could face an additional 5 years for each piece of stolen mail if charged with mail theft, among many other possible charges that could arise as a result of these burglaries such as bank fraud, or identity theft.

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