BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Two EMS workers were accused of stealing a blue collection mailbox in Oakland County by using a stretcher to load it into an ambulance, and then they exposed themselves by calling to ask if they could keep it, according to authorities.
UPDATE: The case against these two men has been dismissed.
Two men were accused of theft of government property and obstruction of mail in a criminal complaint that was unsealed Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
Blue collection box stolen
Officials received a report from the Bloomfield Hills postmaster on April 30 that the blue United States Postal Service collection box at 2550 South Telegraph Road was missing.
Postal maintenance workers said there was no work order for that area, and there had been no plans to remove the mailbox.
EMS worker calls about mailbox
At 11:33 a.m. May 2, a postal technician received a call from one of the men, who asked if he could keep a blue collection box that he found next to a dumpster in Bloomfield Township, the complaint says.
Local 4 went to the mailbox on Wednesday and confirmed that it stands about 10 feet away from a dumpster. But it’s also bolted to a slab of concrete.
The postal technician asked the man why he wanted to keep the collection box, and he said it was for personal use and decorative purposes.
He was told that he is not allowed to keep the collection box.
Officials traced the caller’s phone number and found that it belonged to the man, which is how they first linked him to the case.
Phone call from EMS manager
About 23 minutes later, the postal technician received a call from the manager of the STAR EMS on Telegraph Road in Southfield.
The manager said he didn’t think his employees had taken the collection box. He told the technician that the man claimed someone at the Postal Inspection Service told him he could keep it.
Man calls again
About 10 minutes later, the man called the postal technician again and said that a blue collection box was at the EMS station in Southfield. He provided the door code.
The technician asked the man for the identity of the person who helped take the collection box, and he said he knew him as (first name), but didn’t know his last name.
Officials said they later confirmed the identity of the second person.
Evidence against EMS workers
Postal inspectors met with the EMS manager on May 2, and he confirmed that te two men had been on duty at the time the mailbox was taken.
The manager said the pair were identified via GPS, which showed the ambulance had been stopped at the location of the missing mailbox between 5:22 p.m. and 5:29 p.m. April 29.
Video inside the ambulance showed the men using a stretcher to load the collection box into the back, officials said. That video was turned over to investigators.
“On the video, (the men) are clearly seen stealing and loading a USPS collection box into their ambulance,” the criminal complaint reads. “On the video, (one man) states that if he and (the other man) get an emergency call, they will have to dispose of the USPS collection box.”
USPS collection boxes are worth about $1,800 each.
Interviews
Postal inspectors interviewed the second man on May 6 about the mailbox theft.
He began by saying that stealing it had been “f------ stupid,” in hindsight.
He claimed he hadn’t seen the mailbox until the previous week and thought it was trash because it was near a dumpster. He said the other man told him it was trash.
“(He) stated (the other man) told him he got permission from the post office to take it,” the criminal complaint says. “(He) stated (the other man) thought it could be used as a drop box for their medical reports.”
He also admitted during the interview that the collection box had been bolted into the concrete, officials said.
Postal inspectors also spoke to the other man on May 6.
He told them he had noticed the collection box around April 22. He said he sent a picture of the mailbox to his boss over text and suggested it could be used in the EMS office.
He said he believed the mailbox was no longer being used because it was next to a dumpster. He thought he could refurbish it for a dropbox to be used for medical reports.
He said he took the mailbox to the EMS station, and admitted it was his idea to do so.
Post Office officials said the collection box has always been in that spot, but the dumpster is new.
Conclusion
The criminal complaint concludes there’s probable cause that the two men stole government property and obstructed the mail system.
On Oct. 9, 2025, Local 4 learned that the case against both men has been dismissed.