BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Two EMS workers stole 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.
Ryan Baugh and Jacob Sandrock are 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 Baugh, 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 Baugh why he wanted to keep the collection box, and Baugh said it was for personal use and decorative purposes.
Baugh 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 Baugh, 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, Baugh and Sandrock, had taken the collection box. He told the technician that Baugh claimed someone at the Postal Inspection Service told him he could keep it.
Baugh calls again
About 10 minutes later, Baugh 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 Baugh for the identity of the person who helped take the collection box, and Baugh said he knew him as “Jacob,” but didn’t know his last name.
Officials said they later confirmed that the second person involved was Sandrock.
Evidence against EMS workers
Postal inspectors met with the EMS manager on May 2, and he confirmed that Baugh and Sandrock 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 Baugh and Sandrock using a stretcher to load the collection box into the back, officials said. That video was turned over to investigators.
“On the video, Sandrock and Baugh are clearly seen stealing and loading a USPS collection box into their ambulance,” the criminal complaint reads. “On the video, Baugh states that if he and Sandrock get an emergency call, they will have to dispose of the USPS collection box.”
USPS collection boxes are worth about $1,800 each.
Jacob Sandrock interview
Postal inspectors interviewed Sandrock on May 6 about the mailbox theft.
Sandrock 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 Baugh told him it was trash.
“Sandrock stated Baugh told him he got permission from the post office to take it,” the criminal complaint says. “Sandrock stated Baugh thought it could be used as a drop box for their medical reports.”
Sandrock also admitted during the interview that the collection box had been bolted into the concrete, officials said.
Ryan Baugh interview
Postal inspectors also spoke to Baugh 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.
Baugh 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.
Baugh 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 Baugh and Sandrock stole government property and obstructed the mail system.
You can watch Will Jones’ breakdown of the story here: