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Chilliwack man arrested for community mailbox thefts

David Charles McGill, 47, arrested on Aug. 28 after a trail of community mailboxes broken into from Agassiz to Deroche
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Chilliwack resident David McGill faces eight counts of mail theft in connection with community mailboxes broken into across the Fraser Valley.

A Chilliwack man is in custody facing numerous charges in connection with thefts from community mailboxes across the Fraser Valley.

David Charles McGill, 47, was arrested on Aug. 28 and faces eight charges of mail theft, one of possession of break-in instruments and one of possession of a controlled substance.

The RCMP's Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment Crime Reduction Unit were investigating mailbox thefts dating back to early 2015.

“Information obtained during our investigations led police to believe a blue pickup owned by Mr. McGill was involved in a number of the mail thefts being committed in the district,” Cpl. Brock Rayworth of the UFVRD Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) said in a press release.

On Aug. 28 at approximately 2:30 a.m. CRU officers were informed the blue pickup was spotted near Lougheed Highway and Ashton Road in Agassiz.

Officers attended and found damaged and opened Canada Post community mailboxes.

Following a trail of eight damaged mailboxes through Agassiz and Deroche until just after 5 a.m., officers stopped McGill in the 34000 block of Brient Drive in Mission.

McGill was arrested and evidence was found in the truck linking him to the alleged mail thefts committed that morning.

“We partnered with investigators of the Abbotsford Police Service Crime Reduction Unit and with Canada Post Investigators and continue to pursue every lead of this multi jurisdictional mail theft investigation,” Rayworth said.

“Mail thieves do not recognize jurisdictional boundaries when committing their crimes," RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Rail said. "A collaborated effort of all police agencies of the region is an essential component to the reduction of criminal activity in our community.”