SALEM — Four more people have been charged with stealing mail from a box at a North Salem intersection.
The arrests early Thursday are the second time this month that police have gotten an early-morning call from a nearby resident about suspicious activity near the box at the corner of School and Tremont streets.
The four were allegedly engaging in “mailbox fishing,” in which a string is attached to a sticky item, such as a glue trap, and then lowered into a mailbox and pulled out — along with items like checks for rent or mortgage payments, which can then be altered and cashed.
Officers were able to catch up with the car, stopped at a red light at the intersection of School and North streets, just a few blocks away, according to a police report attached to the complaint.
An officer on patrol noticed that the car was signaling a left turn. But it then took a right.
Police pulled the car over on North Street. The driver, Luis Jose Cabral, 21, did not have a license.
At the feet of the passenger in the front seat — Luisa Santana Herrera, 22 — police spotted a pile of packages.
Oriana Pena, 20, told police that the car belonged to her father. After she and the other rear-seat passenger got out, officers noticed a “fishing” device.
Police found three packages and two letters in the car.
All four are facing charges of breaking into a depository (a mailbox), larceny and possession of a burglarious tool.
Nova is also facing charges of being in possession of stolen credit cards, which were discovered during booking, and receiving stolen property; Cabral is also charged with receiving stolen property — a “washed” check made out for $800 found in a pocket and a letter stuffed into the crotch of his pants — and driving without a license.
All four live in the city of Boston.
Earlier this month, a Salem man, Wensly Plaisir, 22, of 50 Palmer St., was arrested after police stopped him near the same mailbox.
Residents around the city have been reporting finding a sticky substance on mailboxes in recent weeks, and police believe thieves have targeted boxes in several locations.
The U.S. Postal Inspectors have been working with Salem police on the situation.
Police recommend bringing mail directly to the post office if possible or putting mail into street boxes as close as possible to the pickup time (which is usually printed somewhere on the box).
Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis
