Man Arrested for Stealing Mail from Northfield Mailboxes

Rice County Sheriff's deputies on Friday arrested an Iowa man for allegedly stealing mail out of mailboxes in Northfield, Lakeville and other nearby communities.

Jeffrey Thomas Smith, 38 of Dubuque, IA, was arrested after he fled deputies who responded to two calls about him, according to a press release from the Rice County Sheriff's Office.

According to the release:

A deputy was dispatched at 3:45 p.m. to the Rice-Dakota County line in Northfield to check on the welfare of a man, who was later identified as Smith. A caller said Smith stopped at the person's house and asked for something to eat. After being denied, Smith left, according to authorities.

About an hour later, a member of a nearby church called 911 and reported a white man—Smith—had been in the church asking for food. The church member gave Smith a jar of peanut butter, bread and granola bars. He called police because Smith had left his backpack at the church, the release says.

The description of the man in both calls matched.

The deputy found Smith riding a bike and asked if he could speak with him. Smith jumped from the bike and ran into nearby woods and ignored commands to come out of the woods, according to the Sheriff's Office. Rice County K-9 arrived and tracked Smith in the woods; he eventually surrendered and was taken into custody without incident.

The Sheriff's Office searched Smith and allegedly found mail belonging to residents from Northfield, Lakeville, Prior Lake, Elko and other surrounding areas.

Anyone who has been a victim of mail theft in the past two weeks and lives in the aforementioned communities is asked to call your local law enforcement agency.

Smith is being held in Rice County Jail on pending charges of mail theft, a felony, and fleeing police, a misdemeanor. He should be arraigned early next week in Rice County District Court.

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