SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. – A South Florida homeowner decided to take on a thief who has been repeatedly targeting his mailbox.
Surveillance video captured the crook in action.
That homeowner told Local 10 News Monday that he and his neighbors are fed up.
“I’m tired of people coming in and trying to take my stuff, so I’m going to catch them,” said Alex Perez.
It’s happening in Southwest Ranches, just off South Flamingo and Stirling roads.
For months, Perez said he’s been dealing with people going through his mail, cashing his checks and taking his documents.
When it happened again, Perez was ready, and he got up close and personal with the crook.
“I did a specific camera for the mailbox. I’ve got (a license plate reader) and I’ve also got a specific camera aiming to the mailbox,” Perez said. “He’s not just aiming to hit my house. If you see the video surveillance, he hit all the mailboxes down the street.”
Perez said the mailman told him 30 boxes were seemingly targeted.
He says crooks have been trying to get inside cars too. All those things prompted Perez to keep adding more and more security, as he’s on a mission to make it stop.
“I put lasers around the house. I put lasers in the backyard. I put cameras all over,” he said. “You don’t want to live like that, but you have to. Nowadays, you have to live like that. One feels a little helpless.”
Perez is not alone. He’s actually part of a growing book of victims who are being targeted for their mail.
Odds are, this isn’t this crook’s first go at a mailbox, so turning him in could help many.
Anyone with information about the crook’s identity is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.