Thief steals mail from Toluca Lake condos

TOLUCA LAKE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Authorities are searching Thursday for a thief who stole mail from condominiums in Toluca Lake.

Several mailboxes in the 10600 block of Woodbridge Street were hit Thursday morning. The thief also struck the mailboxes across the street. They remained open hours later awaiting investigation from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Some residents told Eyewitness News that the culprit must have had someone buzz them into the building or had the access code to get in.

It's "pretty concerning. I mean you've got people who are getting debit cards, credit cards, personal items in the mail," resident Machael Barber said.

Barber and his neighbors say they suspect the person who did this had a master key that only U.S. Postal Service mail carriers use, because the mailbox wasn't forced open.

Investigators were reviewing security video and stills taken from cameras pointed at the front door of the building to look for a person of interest or a suspect.

No cameras were placed at the mailboxes themselves, according to the U.S Postal Inspection Service.

"The best thing you can do is to check your mail everyday so that you don't leave anything in there overnight," said Jina Kettleson, a homeowner association board member. "We just notified everybody of what happened, so they can be vigilant. I don't think there's much more you can do than that."