Beaumont Mail Theft Suspects Nabbed With 'Hundreds' of Stolen Pieces, Released From Jail Same Day

BEAUMONT, CA — After a rash of mailbox break-ins in town, Beaumont police announced this week that they've caught a duo of suspected mail thieves. The two were out of jail the same day.

According to police, 10 thefts were reported from community mailboxes in the Sundance area on Friday alone.

"Of the ten thefts, two reporting parties gave officers a description of a male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and shorts, and a dark colored vehicle that had left the area around the time of the thefts," police said in a news release.

Then on Sunday, nine more thefts were reported, but suspect information wasn't available. These were in the neighborhoods of Oak Valley Greens and Fore Seasons, located off of Oak Valley Parkway and Oak View Drive, police said.

On Monday morning, police caught a break in the cases when an alert citizen called in "suspicious behavior" at mailboxes near the 800 block of Windbound Avenue.

"Patrol officers responded to the location and located a vehicle with two subjects and initiated a traffic stop," police said. "During the traffic stop, officers located a pry bar in the rear seat, as well as hundreds of items of mail belonging to residences throughout the City."

Twenty-two-year-old Jim Andrew Urban and 23-year-old Lorenzo Alejandro Brambila, both of San Bernardino, were arrested on suspicion of: Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of Burglary Tools, Committing a Crime while out on Bail, according to police.

Online booking records indicate the two men were booked into the Banning jail around 10:30 a.m. They were both released from custody after each posting $10,000 bail on the same day.

By Tuesday, police said they had combed through the seized evidence in the case— but they can't actually return it just yet.

"Detectives have processed the evidence in this case, but under order of the US Postal Inspector and US Attorney’s Office are unable to return recovered items to the victims in anticipation of pending criminal charges," police said Tuesday. "Therefore, Beaumont detectives will be contacting victims to allow them to come to the Police Department to view items that were recovered."

Police said that people who live on the following streets and were victimized will be contacted by authorities:

• Windbound
• Woodburn
• Hedrick
• Caselton
• Brookmead
• Lana Way
• Dixiana
• Valley View Drive
• 10th Place
• 9th Place
• 12th Street
• Florence Avenue
• Olympic
• Double Tree

"If your street is not listed, then items that may have been taken were NOT recovered by detectives," police said. "If you believe you were a victim of mail theft and you haven't already done so, contact the Beaumont Police Department to file a police report."

Police encouraged residents to check and empty their mailboxes daily and to send out mail via the post office or hand it directly to your mail carrier.

Anyone with information related to these thefts is asked to call Beaumont Police Det. Sgt. Robert Galletta at 951-769-8500.

Images courtesy: Beaumont Police Department