Richmond RCMP announced Monday that it may have made a “serious” dent in the city’s mail theft problem with the arrest of two suspected thieves, who are known to police.
Charged with four and three counts of mail theft, respectively, are Robert Anthony Nordhagen, 28, and Janessa Rachelle Wallace, 21, both Richmond residents, according to police.
Early Friday morning, at 4 a.m., police responded to suspicious activity around the 8000 block of General Currie Road in City Centre, stated Cpl. Dennis Hwang in a news release.
A witness told police that a person was seen damaging a community mailbox and stealing the mail within it. Then, a beige late-90s model Mercedes Benz was seen leaving the area.
Nordhagen and Wallace were subsequently arrested for theft and are being held in custody before making their first court appearance, possibly in June.
“They are known to police. Our Property Crime Unit has had them on their radar and they have been slowly building cases against them,” Hwang told the Richmond News.
According to BC Court Services Online, Robert Anthony Nordhagen, born in 1986, has a long history of court appearances. On March 12, 2014, he was found guilty of breach of probation. In January he was found guilty of identity theft and put on probation again, for one year.
A Facebook profile by the name of Rob Nordhagen indicates the person works as a “captain at save-a-ho enterprises” and is a “mailroom supervisor at Canada Post Corporation.” The person is listed in a relationship (since March 18, 2015) with a person with the profile name Janessa Rachelle.
Richmond RCMP could not confirm any links between the profiles and the accused.
At ScamWarners.com, users flagged emails from a Robert Nordhagen as an attempt to commit fraud in 2013. It was believed the person was using fake companies to scam people out of initial rent payments.
Hwang said mail theft is a “high priority crime” for Richmond RCMP.
This year, numerous Richmond residents have had to go to Canada Post’s sorting facility at No. 3 Road and Cambie Street to collect mail because their community or condo mailboxes had been broken into.
Richmond RCMP confirmed, in April, the detachment has seen a spike in mail thefts.
"The increase in statistics is partly due to increased criminal activity but also in the reporting of mail theft. What may have not been reported to police before, or reported only to Canada Post as damage to a superbox, for example, is now being tracked by police as it's own crime type. Mail theft as a phenomenon is occurring in many municipalities throughout BC.” said Hwang.
Richmond RCMP also stated to the city’s safety committee that, while the problem is prevalent in Richmond, it is even worse in other neighbouring communities.
Mail theft prevention tips:
* Report small break-ins
* Do not allow any unknown person into your lobby
* Wait for your garage gate to close
* Use online mail when possible
