Two men from The Bronx, New York, are facing multiple charges in connection with the theft of mail from U.S. Postal Service mailboxes in Princeton, according to the Princeton Police Department.
The two men, ages 26 and 27, were nabbed as police kept watch on the U.S. Postal Service mailboxes on Palmer Square West, shortly before 2 a.m. Aug. 21.
Both men were charged with theft of identity, receiving stolen property and possession of burglar tools. The 26-year-old man was additionally charged with hindering apprehension, police said.
The men were taken to the Mercer County Corrections Center, pending a detention hearing.
During the surveillance operation, a police officer reportedly observed the 26-year-old man walking slowly in the area of the mailboxes. He walked over to the mailboxes and pulled on each door handle, but he did not put mail in the mailboxes.
The officer stopped him, and learned that an accomplice was sitting in a car parked on Palmer Square East, according to reports.
During the investigation, police allegedly a small plastic bag containing mail that did not belong to either man. The men were also found to have tools that were used to fish mail out of the mailboxes, according to the allegations.
U.S. Postal Service inspectors were notified of the arrests, and are continuing to assist in the ongoing investigations.
Since January, police have received nearly two dozen reports of checks being stolen from mailboxes around Princeton. The amount of money on the checks and the person or party to whom the checks were made payable were altered, resulting in losses totaling more than $100,000, according to police.