Recent string of mailbox break-ins creating delays at Martinez post office

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- Some East Bay residents have to trek their way to the post office to get mail because of a recent string of mailbox break-ins.

Martinez and postal officials are set to meet to address this growing problem.

This problem is affecting hundreds of Martinez residents and more people throughout the Bay Area. The post office on Alhambra Avenue is very busy due to everyone coming to pick up their mail.

These residents' mail boxes at home are broken. The post office says big apartment boxes and neighborhood boxes are broken because of a rash of mail thefts.

They say they're trying to solve the problems as they come up but people in line say they've been without their mail service anywhere from one week to two to three months.

"There's not enough parking to accommodate all of us that come to get our mail and you can wait 45 minutes to an hour just to go to that window to pick up your mail," Martinez resident Lori Borden said.

"It's frustrating, it's time consuming, especially if you have things to do on a daily basis," resident Ron Willis said.

"I can't eat this week because I'm not getting my unemployment papers to get money," said Jeff Koester. He came to the post office to pick up a week's worth of mail and only got one piece.

The post office has a policy where they're supposed to fix mail boxes within 48 hours. When asked why it's taking months, Martinez postmaster Jeanette Davis said, "Because we had to change the type of locks and mechanisms that were used."

Davis is actually very pleased because she said, after a long wait, the parts they need to fix the mailboxes came in Monday morning. She says crews are out at all these apartment buildings trying to fix them as soon as possible.

Koester went back to ask the postmaster and she came back with a whole other pile of mail. It's a busy post office with a lot of confusion.