After a 2:51 a.m. call to police on Tuesday from Casement Street, officers stopped a car that had been traveling nearby and found four people in it along with 100-plus pieces of mail — including incoming and outgoing checks — with the addresses of 23 homes in Darien, police said.
Police said they aren’t making any arrests now, and would not identify the individuals in the car in any way. Police said that after identifying the individuals in the car, officers later notified the United States Postal Inspector Service, which may prosecute them under federal mail theft statutes.
Darien police gave this additional account of what happened, including accusations not proven in court:
The Casement Street resident who called police told them that he saw two individuals on his property. The car police saw soon afterward was a black sedan going east on the Post Road.
While an officer was following the car, the license plate showed it was registered to an address in Bridgeport, where, the police announcement pointed out, several vehicles stolen from Darien were later found.
As the car began to get on an entrance ramp for the northbound lanes of Interstate 95, police stopped the vehicle, removed four people from it, separated them and questioned each one.
The car occupants each gave varying stories about where they were before coming to Darien and where they intended to go. An officer at the scene saw from outside the car numerous packages on the back seat with the addresses of Darien homes on them.
Police searched the car and took the mail from it before releasing the four people. Postal inspectors later took possession of the mail with the intention of getting it to the intended recipients.
Postal inspectors and Darien police are continuing to investigate the incident.
Police released the following statement with their announcement:
- The Darien Police Department would again like to encourage residents to utilize the Post Office when sending items of value, and to remain diligent in collecting their mail on a daily basis.
- If possible, avoid placing outgoing mail in your residential box and raising the flag, as these are visible indicators to thieves of the presence of mail.
- If you feel you’ve been the victim of mail theft, please contact the Darien Police Department at 203.662.5300.