PHOENIX — After weeks of investigating, authorities made two arrests in connection to mail theft in the Valley.
On Tuesday, Phoenix SWAT officers, took down the front door and broke several windows of a home along 29th Avenue and Greenway.
“I saw what looked like a whole squadron, a platoon of soldiers walk across our driveway," said a neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. "This is the third SWAT raid in about five years.”
Twenty-seven-year-old Kayla Martin was taken into custody, along with two other men - 41-year-old Daniel Thompson and another unidentified man.
The home, located just a few streets from several homeowners who reported their mail stolen in February, and caught the suspected thief on camera.
"We do believe Martin to be involved in mail theft," said Postal Inspector Elizabeth Davis. She couldn't say that Martin was the woman captured on surveillance video, though.
"At this time, investigators are investigating other individuals who may also be involved. There are other residents at that location with the same build and hair color."
The woman seen riding a scooter down 33rd Avenue, shoving envelopes into a bag sitting below her, had dark hair.
In fact, Martin told the postal inspectors office she was not the woman who initially stole the mail. She claims that the woman gave her a debit card, and asked her to deposit and withdraw money into the account.
According to Martin's arrest report, a Glendale man reported a debit card stolen from his mailbox while he was on vacation in November of 2019.
Investigators tracked transactions made with the debit card to an American First Credit Union location and asked for surveillance video associated with the transactions. Investigators say they saw Martin depositing and withdrawing several hundred dollars in and out of the account.
While mail theft is a federal crime, Martin is only facing state charges for identify theft at this time.
Neighbors call the suspected thieves brazen for stealing mail from their own neighborhood.
“They are brazen, I think they’re hooked they need the money and they don’t care," said the anonymous neighbor. “Personally I would rather see them in jail for a long time.”
