Tracking device leads to arrest of man stealing mail from Chicago area collection box

A South suburban man is facing a federal theft charge alleging he stole mail from a collection box outside the Park Ridge Post Office, authorities said Wednesday.

Kelvin Dortch Jr. of Dolton was arrested Sept. 15, after a tracking device placed in a mail container led postal investigators to his residence on the 14000 block of Evans Avenue, according to federal court documents.

The arrest follows an investigation launched earlier this year by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service after at least six break-ins of collection boxes outside the Park Ridge Post Office dating back to November, as well as numerous complaints about stolen mail.