With mail thefts continuing to increase city wide, Clovis Police Detectives worked a special detail during the early morning hours of Sunday, January 30, 2022. Our staff has taken 50 reports of mail & package theft in January 2022 alone, so our Investigations division went to work before the sun came up this past weekend. Using both marked and unmarked Department vehicles, Detectives were able to arrest three suspects during their detail.

The first two suspects were pulled over in the area of Buchanan High School around 4:30AM. After Detectives noticed the vehicle pulled over next to a community mailbox, vehicle code violations were observed as they left the area, and the vehicle was pulled over. Detectives arrested 34-year-old Mailee Xiong of Clovis and 31-year-old Xai Xiong of Fresno for theft of mail, and possession of burglary tools. Their vehicle was also towed.

At about 5:00AM, Officers and Detectives arrested 37-year-old transient Deandre Smith in the area of Gettysburg/Villa after he was seen stealing mail from a residence in the area. Smith is a prolific thief and has been arrested several times. He was booked into Fresno County Jail for mail theft, possession of stolen property, and possession of a controlled substance.

Additional proactive details like this are planned in the near future as well as we work to stop the increase of mail theft. We urge you to be vigilant, and collect your mail daily, sign up for ‘Informed Delivery” which is a free service offered by USPS, report mail theft to us when it occurs, and call us to report suspicious activity immediately, 24 hours a day.