Check stolen from mailbox, altered and cashed; suspect sought

A Dentville area woman thought the check was in the mail to SCE&G but a thief lifted the envelope with the payment out of her home mailbox, where it awaited pickup by the postal carrier. When she got a past-due bill notice from SCE&G, she notified authorities and her bank, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in a news release.

Richland County authorities are looking for a man caught on surveillance cashing the check for $265.57 at the AllSouth bank on Parkland Road. The name on the check had been altered.

The victim was able to put a stop payment on the second check stolen at the same time from her mailbox.

The thief is described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s.

If you have information about this crime, you are asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, text CRIMES (274637) and mark the beginning of the message with “TIPSC” followed by the tip information, or log onto www.midlandscrimestoppers.com and click on the red “Submit a tip” tab.

Staff Reports