OKC Police Nab 2 Accused Of Swiping Mail, Writing Fraudulent Checks

News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Police arrested a man and woman suspected of driving through a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood and stealing mail containing personal information and checks.

A homeowner called police Thursday, Feb. 17, to report two people in a beat-up, maroon car with a bad paint job were swiping mail from mail boxes. A police officer spotted a car matching that description just a few minutes later near N.W. 16th Street and N. Purdue.

The officer pulled over the car and found 37-year-old Jason Sanders behind the wheel. Tiffany Tran, 21, was sitting in the passenger's seat. The officer asked Sanders for his driver's license, but he said he did not have one with him. The officer put Sanders in the back of his patrol car while he tried to verify his identity. He also called for another police unit to hold Tran.

When the officer asked Sanders about the stolen mail, he said Sanders acted shocked and began to stutter. He asked Tran the same question and she initially denied knowing about the stolen mail. But according to the police report, Tran eventually told the officer the mail was hidden under the front passenger seat of the couple's car.

Police found mail belonging to numerous people. Several of the envelopes had already been ripped open. Many of the letters contained personal checks and forms containing sensitive personal information such as birth dates and social security numbers.

The arresting officer also found a check with someone else's name in Sanders' front pocket. It had been used to make a purchase of more than $439 at a local Wal-Mart. The officer said Sanders also had a fake driver's license with the same name as the check, but with Sanders' picture. Police contacted the person whose name and information were on both the check and fake driver's license, and discovered the victim's information had been stolen.

Police arrested both Sanders and Tran. They both face charges of receiving and concealing stolen property. Sanders also faces charges of knowingly possessing fake identification and documents, and driving under suspension.