Woman sends herself Apple AirTag to catch mail thieves

[get these nets]

Woman sends herself Apple AirTag to catch mail thieves​

Aug 20, 2024
Tired of being a victim of repeated mail theft, a Santa Barbara County woman laid her own trap to catch those responsible for ripping her off.
The unidentified woman kept a mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office in the Santa Maria Valley and had been the victim of mail theft on multiple occasions, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

To stop the thefts once and for all, the woman decided to ship herself an Apple AirTag, a small, keychain-sized tracking device capable of providing a current GPS location to the owner’s mobile device, and waited for the thieves to take the bait.

On Monday, sheriff’s deputies responded to the Los Alamos Post Office to meet the woman after her mail was stolen again, this time with the AirTag included.


Now able to track the thieves, deputies traveled to Santa Maria where they located the suspects and the victim’s stolen mail — the tracking device and all.


Additional pieces of mail from dozens of other victims were also recovered, officials said.


Deputies ultimately arrested 27-year-old Virginia Franchessca Lara of Santa Maria and 37-year-old Donald Ashton Terry of Riverside.


Lara and Terry were both booked into jail in Santa Maria where they remain in custody as they await felony charges.


Lara faces possible charges for possession of stolen checks and credit cards, identity theft and conspiracy. She’s being held on $50,000 bail.


Terry faces the same felony charges, as well as one count of burglary. He’s also wanted for several thefts that took place in Riverside County, authorities said. His bail is set at $460,000.


The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office commended the victim for her “proactive solution,” and thanked her for exercising caution by contacting law enforcement rather than confronting the thieves herself.


The case remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and detectives are working to contact additional victims.

 

[RehReh]

Yh and great for catching crooks that work in luggage at airports too

 

[Detroit Wave]

Citizens doing the police job for em

 

[Hoshi_Toshi]

And why the fukk couldn’t the police do this if was that easy?

 

[concise]

And why the fukk couldn’t the police do this if was that easy?

You want the police to put tracking devices on people?



Seriously?

 

[Luke Cage]

And why the fukk couldn’t the police do this if was that easy?

They'd need a warrant i'd think in order to put tracking devices in peoples mail.

 

[TAYLONDO SAMSWORTHY]

You want the police to put tracking devices on people?



Seriously?

Not sure if you trolling or not with your response but,

Just like dye packs or trackers in bags of money that bank robbers steal. Same concept.

 

[get these nets]

And why the fukk couldn’t the police do this if was that easy?

Police wouldn't devote resources for every resident who has gotten packages stolen. Good for her for taking action, and then bringing the cops in later.

 

[Hoshi_Toshi]

You want the police to put tracking devices on people?



Seriously?

I want them to use their resources to stake out the post and track them however they need to legally.

 

[concise]

Not sure if you trolling or not with your response but,

Just like dye packs or trackers in bags of money that bank robbers steal. Same concept.

Dye packs come from the bank, not the government or the police.

I want them to use their resources to stake out the post and track them however they need to legally.

You won't get far due to the need for warrants and "reasonable" surveillance.

 

[kdslittlebro]

Good fukkin shyt. If you literally taking food and shyt to survive that’s one thing, but a thief is one of the worst things you can be in my book

 

[Big Blue]

Not sure if you trolling or not with your response but,

Just like dye packs or trackers in bags of money that bank robbers steal. Same concept.

That's not the police doing that.

 

[kdslittlebro]

Yh and great for catching crooks that work in luggage at airports too

Mfs “lost” my luggage earlier this yr. Had to get it mailed back to me and I guess a bottle of my cologne just happened to fall out in the meantime fukk ass nikkas will never get me to check a bag again. I’m on Greg Focker timing

 

[RehReh]

Mfs “lost” my luggage earlier this yr. Had to get it mailed back to me and I guess a bottle of my cologne just happened to fall out in the meantime fukk ass nikkas will never get me to check a bag again. I’m on Greg Focker timing

Man that's why I don't leave my tobacco in no damn luggage

 

[Dorian Breh]

people sticking up for the police makes me sick

they dont need an airtag. the patterns been established, clearly these two were grabbing every single package

if they merely mailed an empty box that looked like an ipad or something and then just sat and watched the door they would have caught them

the police in this country have accepted that they aren't going to do shyt for any community they "serve" other than show up and write a police report and tell the victim to kick rocks

they dont solve murders or robberies
when they show up to active crime scenes they usually shoot civilians

all they are good for is beating on teenagers and booking homeless people