ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – It was a bold crime in St. Johns County.
Videos from multiple people in the Durbin Crossing neighborhood show a mailbox being pulled from the ground and dragged down the street for at least a mile by at least two people in a truck.
It was just after 9:30 Saturday night when the vandals hit while the homeowner was inside watching TV.
Now, a hole in the ground is all that’s left. Neighbors even heard it. They said it was so loud it sounded like a car crash.
“My neighbor called my wife and said ‘hey your mailbox is gone’ and that’s when we looked outside,” said homeowner Ray Brown.
Brown was upstairs watching a football game with his family when he felt like he was being tackled.
“I was shocked. I was in disbelief. I could not believe something like that could happen I didn’t really understand why,” Brown said.
The why he may never know but the how became very clear while piecing together videos from neighbors. A camera from across the street caught a dark pickup truck stopping in front of his house on Weathered Oak Court. Then someone can be seen hopping out of the bed of the truck.
“You can hear something that sounds like a heavy-duty chain wrapped it around the post of the mailbox. Then they got in the truck and pulled off,” Brown said.
Sparks fly as the mailbox is dragged down the street and out of the neighborhood for at least a mile. Neighbors say they saw the same pickup truck the night before driving down the dead-end street and turn around in the cul-de-sac.
Once they filed the police report, Brown said he was still on guard.
“I was very upset and nervous at the same time thinking about the family so I basically slept on the first floor, we have a room there with the blinds open that’s where I stayed last night so I was up probably until about 2 a.m. just watching,” he said.
Now he wants justice and for the people responsible to learn a very important life lesson.
“You can’t just go around and destroy someone’s property and take whatever you want there should be a consequence for whatever you do, whether it’s good or bad,” he said.
Mailboxes are protected by federal law and crimes against mailboxes and even the mail inside is investigated by the postal inspector. If the person who is responsible is convicted they could face three years behind bars and also a $250,000 fine.
If you recognize the car or know anything about the crime, call the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.