Fed-up California woman catches mail thieves by sending herself an Apple AirTag

A California woman who was sick of repeatedly losing her mail to thieves helped police nab two offenders after she cleverly mailed herself an Apple AirTag

The unidentified woman kept a mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office in the Santa Maria Valley and had been the victim of mail theft on several occasions, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

Police responded to the post office on Tuesday around 7:15 a.m. after the woman reported the latest theft. She told police she had mailed herself a package that included a small Apple AirTag device that she was able to track.

Cops quickly located the two suspects in Santa Maria, who were found with the victim’s mail — including the package with the AirTag.

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They also had items believed to be stolen from more than a dozen additional victims, according to the sheriff’s office.

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“The Sheriff’s Office would like to commend the victim for her proactive solution, while highlighting that she also exercised appropriate caution by contacting law enforcement to safely and successfully apprehend the suspects,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Virginia Francesca Lara, 27, of Santa Maria and Donald Ashton, 37, of Riverside were charged with possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, identity theft, credit card theft and conspiracy.

Lara was held on a $50,000 bond at the county’s Northern Branch Jail.

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Terry, who was also booked on several theft-related warrants out of Riverside County, is being held on a $460,000 bond.

The case remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and detectives are working to contact additional victims.

In May, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the city would be dishing out free Apple AirTags to residents as part of an effort to pump the brakes on surging car thefts.

A Toronto man whose SUV was stolen in Aug. 2023 tracked the vehicle some 6,800 miles across the globe to the Middle East with the tech where it ultimately ended up in a car lot near Dubai.

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