Ocala mail receptacles broken into, mail stolen inside

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The Ocala Police Department say that an officer responded to the Post Office on SW 1st Avenue after receiving a report from a citizen that the outside mail box receptacles appeared to be broken into.

Upon arrival, the officer said that contact was made with the citizen, 53-year-old James Joseph McGinley. MicGinley told the officer that as he pulled up to the outside mail receptacle, he observed the doors on it to be ajar forcibly. 

The officer says that the mail receptacles at the drive-up location did look forcibly opened. The other outside mail receptacles also looked like they were forcibly opened as well. There were no forms of mail left inside the mail receptacles or laying on the ground. A total of four were broken into. Two were larger receptacles and the other two were smaller. 

Police went on to say that it seemed like the mail receptacles were broken by some form of pry bar or blunt object. 

The officer reportedly also spoke to responder/manager 41-year-old John Robert Chance. Chance told police that the two larger receptacles were valued at $2,800 each and the two smaller receptacles were valued at $1,500 each. He also that when he left at 6 p.m. on December 17th, the mail receptacles had not yet been damaged or broken into. 

Chance could not advise the value of the mail lost. However, Chance told police that the post office located on Maricamp Road has had the same incident occur over there.