On December 11 a Santa Paula Police Officer entered the post office and saw that six or seven boxes had apparently been pried open; the contents apparently were missing and the boxes had sustained major damage.
Since the Post Office is a federal agency Santa Paula Police Sgt. Cody Madison said the investigation was turned over to the postal authorities for investigation.
The damaged boxes were boarded up.
One longtime box renter who asked to remain anonymous said of the Post Office, “It needs to be locked up at night…I’ve heard for years that street people sleep in there at night, wanting to get out of the cold.
“Personally,” the customer added, “I never go near the post office anymore after hours...I only go when there are people at the counter. I have had the misfortune of going into the post office on off-hour weekends or at night, or even early morning, to see people stealing the post office’s ‘juice’ for their cell phones/iPhones,” from an electrical outlet in a public area.
The customer also reported several incidents with transients soliciting “for sex, drugs, money, booze, food, rides, jobs,” and even some frightening confrontations.
“Despite the proximity of the police department, City Hall and the fire department, I no longer look at this stretch of Mill Street as a safe area…even in the daytime hours when the post office is open for business I’m careful.”
