NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Northville Township Police Department says two suspects have been arrested in connection to an armed robbery of a mail carrier on Tuesday.
Police were called to the area of Silver Spring Drive and 8 Mile Road around 12:45 p.m.
Two suspects armed with a gun reportedly approached the mail carrier and demanded keys to postal boxes that access collection boxes, apartment mailboxes and personal mailboxes. The suspects took the keys and fled the area in a silver mid-sized Hyundai SUV.
“For that to just happen right in the middle of the day? Unreal. I’m still in shock about the whole thing," Camille Rosekrans, who lives in the area, said.
Police were called and surrounding area agencies were alerted about the suspects taking off.
Livonia police came across the silver Hyundai on I-96 and Middlebelt Road, and the two suspects were arrested about 10 miles from where the armed robbery took place.
Multiple weapons were found in the car. Thankfully, no one was hurt and police applaud the mail carrier's quick thinking and good suspect descriptions for the quick apprehension.
“It’s not fair for the mail carrier or anybody to deal with something like this," Rosekrans said.
This is the third recent incident of a robbery of a postal carrier. There were two robberies in Taylor last month. It's not clear if they are related. The United States Postal Inspection Service said, "To maintain the integrity of several active investigations, additional specific details are unavailable at this time, but inspectors and detectives are investigating a potential link between this robbery and other recent armed robberies of USPS Letter Carriers."
Police are offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that may lead to an arrest in the Taylor mail carrier thefts.
Unfortunately, incidents of letter carrier robberies are on the rise across the nation. According to the United States Postal Service, in the fiscal year 2022, 412 letter carriers were robbed on the job. In the first half of fiscal year 2023, already 305 incidents have been reported.
Along with the uptick in mail carrier robberies, more mail is being stolen as well. USPS reported a high volume mail theft incidents from mail receptacles including blue collection boxes: 38,500 in fiscal year 2022 and more than 25,000 in the first half of 2023.
Real estate specialist for seniors Tina Doyle says her 94-year-old mother's check was stolen in Northville last spring.
“It turned out that someone had taken a check she had written for Kohl's for a small amount and washed her personal information and rewrote the check out for $13,500," Doyle said.
Doyle hopes more people are aware that this is happening and take precautions.
“It’s frustrating because everything has to be so complicated you can’t just put mail in the blue mailbox anymore and feel confident about it," she said.
Police say to protect your personal information, if you are sending something of importance, it may be best to hand deliver that mail to a postal worker at a post office. Doyle also advocates for the elderly and encourages them pay bills electronically instead of sending checks by mail to further protect their personal information.
Robbery of any person regarding a mail matter is a federal crime punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 dollars.
