Police Warn Of Damage To Several Mailboxes In LeClaire

What do you gain out of damaging a mailbox? I'll tell you what the fine and prison time is here in a second, but you only gain the satisfaction of being a big jerk.

The LeClaire Police Department is investigating multiple mailboxes being damaged on a road in town. As someone who has had people look in my mailbox and threaten to steal things from it, this infuriates me.

Either way, the damage is done and officials from the LeClaire Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff's Office need your help finding these dipsticks.

LeClaire Police Need Your Help Finding Suspects

In a social media post on Wednesday, the LeClaire Police Department said that Tuesday night, they received several reports of damage done to multiple mailboxes along Cody Road.

While that sounds very vague since Cody Road is the main road in LeClaire, authorities know exactly where.

The report says that Scott County Sheriff's Office also took reports of similar damage to mailboxes along Valley Drive on Wednesday morning. Valley Drive runs fairly parallel to S Cody Rd/Hwy 67.

Fine For Damaging Mailboxes

Because I've had people go through my mailbox, I had to already look this up before. In case you didn't know, you don't really own your mailbox. It's federal property.

Stealing out of a mailbox is a major federal offense. 18 U.S. Code § 1708 reads:

"Whoever steals, takes, or abstracts, or by fraud or deception obtains any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing contained therein which has been left for collection upon or adjacent to a collection box or other authorized depository of mail matter... Shall be fined (up to $250,000) under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."

Whoever did this and if they get caught, good luck paying that fine and serving that time.

If you have any information about this, or if you noticed any suspicious vehicles, people, or activity, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., please message or call the department (563-289-4242 ext. 1).

LeClaire Police would also be interested in any video surveillance footage that may have captured the suspect vehicle.