The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating reports of mail theft and the placement of hypodermic needles in mail boxes around the County. Sheriff Kevin Armstrong said they arrested two females for stealing mail.

Armstrong said the thieves were coming up Highway 46 and getting into mid county. Residents know who should be in the neighborhood, and a Post Office box inside the Post Office helps keep the mail from where it’s most vulnerable. “Call the Sheriff’s office,” Armstrong said. “That helps us. The extra eyes are invaluable.”

On January 27, 2022, Larry Dean Starkey Jr. posted a note on the Facebook page “Sweet Home Gilpin County” that he and his wife had just returned home from helping Gilpin County Sheriffs detain two mail thieves. Starkey told The Mountain-Ear that he has lived in Gilpin County for six years, and before that lived in Coal Creek Canyon.

He wrote that they noticed a Purple Jeep Wrangler parked next to the row of mailboxes. He turned the car around and parked next to the mailboxes to check his box. At that time the Jeep with two women drove up his road and into the neighborhood. He then found the Jeep at Taggert’s parked at the gas pump.

“My wife noticed the passenger flipping through several envelopes after I walked by,” he said. “Once the Jeep drove off headed towards Nederland, we contacted the sheriff’s dispatcher and proceeded to follow from a distance.

“After getting past Roy’s Last Shot, the Jeep driver realized they were being followed and decided to brake check me from about 80 feet away. I stopped with safe distance and the Jeep continued on towards Nederland while throwing heaps of mail out the passenger window every couple of miles,” Starkey said.

The vehicle turned right on Highway 72. “I followed all the way to Wondervu where they turned onto Stone Cliff Circle, which is one way in and out. I blocked the vehicle from leaving but had to pull off because she was ready to do whatever it took to ram her way out. She turned back onto Highway 72 headed towards Pinecliffe, so I followed while still on the phone with the dispatcher.”

After an hour and a half pursuit, the Jeep driver turned onto South Beaver Creek Road and was blocked by an unmarked sheriff and Starkey. They did arrest the two females and towed the vehicle.

“We backtracked with the two officers and collected as much mail off the side of the road as we could,” Starkey said. That was after the plows already went by and scraped it all.

“Huge thanks to the Gilpin Sheriff’s Department for helping us catch these thieves. Hopefully this is who has been up here hitting all of our communities’ mailboxes,” Starkey said.

However, on March 16 Starkey reported that he found hypodermic needles in his mailbox. The whole row of boxes on Caesar and Claudius roads held the same contents. Starkey told The Mountain-Ear that they “busted a guy at the mail boxes.”

Starkey tried to block the man’s truck, but he left going 100 miles an hour down Highway 119. Starkey gave chase, but called it off by the Gilpin County School building.

Starkey said the man was taking out the contents of the mailboxes and putting hypodermic needles in them, leaving the boxholders a calling card.

Also On March 16, 2022, Jessica Sawyer wrote on Facebook, “Keep an eye out for a black Chevy Silverado with damage to the passenger side front end, just caught them stealing mail at Caesar Road. The truck is super dirty with no plates.” She said she had run into someone who said they saw the same truck just past 8 a.m. at their driveway, who stole their mail, too.

Other residents have complained of torn mail, or not receiving mail at all.

The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office has received several notifications of mail theft from residents in the rural parts of Gilpin County. Obtaining a Post Office box is the best way to protect yourself against this type of crime.

If you have any information about these crimes, or if you need to report a mail theft, please contact the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office at 303-582-1060.