Kettering police investigating new case of post office mailbox theft; Man arrested

KETTERING — Kettering police are investigating another instance of theft from mailboxes again at the Forrer Boulevard post office location, according to investigators.

>>PREVIOUS REPORT: Police investigating another case of mailbox theft at Kettering post office

Officers were called to the post office at 1490 Forrer Boulevard around 1:30 a.m. Sunday on reports of theft from mailboxes, a Kettering police incident report shows.

During their investigation, police noted an “undetermined amount of mail” was stolen, officers said in the police report, obtained in a public records request by News Center 7.

Further investigation led police to arresting Juan T. Harris, 27, of Dayton within hours of police discovering the mail theft, online jail records show.

Harris was arrested around 6 a.m. Sunday in the 2900 block of Marsha Lane in Dayton and remains booked in the Kettering City Jail on preliminary charges of receiving stolen property, police and online jail records show.

“We are currently working with Kettering PD and other local law enforcement partners to follow on up investigative leads. The investigation is still active and ongoing and I can’t comment on specifics of that investigation,” a spokesperson for the United States Postal Inspector’s Office said in a statement to News Center 7.

>>RELATED 4 arrested in connection to recent string of area mail thefts, Kettering police say

This is at least the third time in recent months this Kettering post office was targeted by mail thieves. In May, Kettering police launched two different investigations after outdoor mail drop boxes were tampered with.

The first theft led to four arrests, and police believed the thieves had access to a stolen key that was able to unlock the outdoor boxes.

>>RELATED: Kettering PD: Multiple blue postal service mailbox drop boxes tampered with

It was not immediately known if the theft Sunday morning was believed to be connected or if this was another suspected instance of a stolen key being used.

The Postal Inspector’s Office is still encouraging people who believe they had mail stolen to contact the inspector’s office at CFOMT@uspis.gov or the 24/7 hotline at 877-876-2455.

To avoid becoming a victim of mail theft, the postal inspector’s office encourages people to place outgoing mail in the blue collection bin before the last pickup of the day or to walk mail inside the post office to hand over to a postal clerk or inside a mail dropbox.

This is a developing story and we’ll update this page as we learn more.

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