Mail Thief Caught In Amarillo. Is Nothing Safe These Days?

Things get stolen all the time. Cars, catalytic converters, electronics, snacks at a gas station.

Then there are things that get stolen that you wouldn't even think would be something interesting or useful to someone.

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Enter Eliosbeth Rojas who has given us something else to worry about getting stolen in the city.

Mail.

Yes, regular ol' mail that you slap a stamp on and drop in a box.

Sure, if you have one of those mailboxes where you can put something in it and throw the flag up to alert the mail delivery person that there's something in there that needs to be picked up, you worry someone other than that will reach in and take what's inside.

However, Rojas is being accused of something much bigger, and it's mind-boggling as to how it all happened.

It all started back in February 2022 when Amarillo National Bank reached out to the Postal Inspector. They said several customers had reported mail theft.

As police started to dig into it, they found that sure enough, checks that had been dropped in those blue mailboxes around town weren't making it to their destination.

They were able to trace some of the checks to several bank accounts in Florida. The damage? Over $290,000.

Surveillance footage from an Amarillo post office showed a man approaching one of the blue mailboxes after midnight. He reached into the side collection door and took armfuls of mail. In order to get inside those boxes, you need a special key that Rojas appeared to be in possession of. No word on how he obtained it.

Police found the vehicle near Richard Ave and ran a search. That's what led them to Rojas.

On July 5, they watched Rojas and his family leave their home. They witnessed Rojas get out of the car with a United Supermarkets bag and then lost sight of him. He returned...but without the bag.

Police checked a dumpster and found the bag with a bevy of unopened mail that wasn't his. Game over.

Rule of thumb? Do what I do, take literally every single piece of mail you need sent out INSIDE the post office. I understand the convenience of the boxes you can pull up to, but after hearing this, do you want to take the risk?