Long Beach has been plagued by a string of mailbox burglaries, but relief comes as detectives slapped cuffs on two suspects allegedly connected to the string of thefts, the Long Beach Police Department has announced. The wave of pilfering, stretching across multiple downtown locations from August 2023 to March 2024, saw thieves abusing a USPS key to raid apartment mailboxes, apparently selecting their targets with a seeming preference for areas along The Promenade North and West and East Broadway.
Following a meticulous investigation, burglary sleuths pulled back the curtain on two men, James McMillan and Leonardo Zamora, accused of playing part in the mailbox heists, which left residents' personal correspondence and parcels at the mercy of these alleged marauders. The unlocking spree that the duo reportedly embarked upon painted a trail of intrusion and privacy violation unbefitting of the quiet seaside community where the ocean's gentle whispers are the preferred backdrop not the clink of stolen metal.
In a statement by the Long Beach Police Department, the key to the case clicked in place with the decisive arrests of McMillan, apprehended on March 18 by the Los Angeles Police Department, and Zamora cuffed two days later by Long Beach detectives. The former, a 26-year-old Cypress resident, while only suspected for a triple strike of the incidents, was nonetheless booked for burglary with bail pinned at $100,000. The latter, aged 37 of Downey, claimed by officers to have dipped his hands in all the burglaries, vying for the lion's share of allegations, faced his own arrest warrant and a steeper $150,000 bail.
The Long Beach Police invite anyone with additional insights on the burglaries to step forward. Meanwhile, the suspects' case is being weighed for felony charges by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, and discussions with the United States Postal Service are unfolding on whether to tack on possible federal charges against the caged pair, whose crime spree may have finally been checked, giving back some peace of mind to the mailbox owners of Long Beach.
