A half-dozen homes in the South Side Calumet Heights neighborhood were targeted this weekend by thieves, who pried off brass-covered mail slots that could be worth hundreds of dollars as scrap metal from the homes' facades.
The thefts occurred between about 6 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said. Five mail slots were hit in from homes in the 8900 block of South Cornell Avenue and one at a home in the 8900 block of South East End Avenue, Mirabelli said.
The thieves "took the sleeve as well as the cover from [the mail slots of] various houses on these blocks," he said.
The homes were all well-maintained, single-family homes occupied by senior citizens -- the victims ranged in age from their mid-70s to 95 years old -- Mirabelli said, but the homes apparently were not targeted because of the age of the residents but rather because of the value of the material used in the mail slots.
Mirabelli expalined the mail slots were built into the homes' exteriors and covered by a brass or brass-like cover with similar material around the slot. "These metals are very attractive" to people looking to cash them in as scrap metal, Mirabelli said. The thief or thieves would have had to use some sort of pry tool to remove the cover and frame, he said.
Mirabelli said the value of the mail slot covers and sleeves that were taken could be hundreds of dollars, depending on price recyclers would pay for it.
Police do not have a description of the offenders in these thefts, but Area South property crimes detectives are investigating.
"We encourage anyone with information to call 311 or Area South property crimes detectives" with information, Mirabelli said. Additionally, if any area residents who may have been away from home this weekend realize that they are the victims of these theives, they are also asked to call 311 to report the crime.
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