"Roxy", and her charming boyfriend "Axel"....
are currently spending a little time in the county jail. This is most likely a temporary housing situation as I feel quite confident they will be swapping their jail cell here for one in a bigger, more permanent location. You see, Roxy and her boyfriend were arrested this week. They were pulled over because the pick-up truck they were driving had a front head light out. But when the police officier looked inside the truck, he knew he had hit payday. This charming couple had 51 burglary tools, a $1,000 diamond, drugs and more than 50 pieces of stolen mail including birth certificates, bank account statements, personal checks, and more. Included in those 50 pieces of mail were also one of our bank statements, our phone bill, and a credit card offer. Those 3 items that were carefully selected from our mailbox in our little suburban neighborhood provided plenty of information for this charming couple to either us to set up lines of credit or to sell that someone else could make all their credit dreams come true.
I remember the day I picked the mail up and thought it was strange that one of the bank statements didn't come with the rest of them. They usually all arrive together and I did notice one wasn't there. But I truly thought nothing more of it...until the police officer called at 5:30 a.m. in the morning and asked if there was a reason why Roxy and Axel would have our mail.
These two, while not terribly attractive (you'll have to trust me on this!), are very smart. They understood that having these 3 items were all they needed to cause lots of chaos. Having someone's information, adult or minor, means they can cause years of damage to an individual's credit without that person realizing it...and by the time you find out, you can spend years trying to repair the damage.
I truly feel blessed that this police officer pulled this couple over. I feel truly blessed that these items were discovered. I feel truly blessed that we didn't go months or years before we discovered this problem and were then required to spend years trying to get out of it.
All our accounts have been closed and changed. We have contacted credit bureaus and tried to stop all credit card offers. We have have gone completely wireless with all our statements, bills, etc. We have added identity theft protection to our computers, bank accounts, and credit reports. This kind of stuff just doesn't happen in a sweet little neighborhood like ours.
Now we know better.
(This is the article that appeared in the newspaper this week regarding this incident! Names and locations have been changed to protect us from any creepy friends these two might have!)
Two people were arrested in Happyville after police say they discovered 51 burglary tools, a $1,000 diamond, drugs and more than 50 pieces of stolen mail in the truck the pair were driving Tuesday.
Roxy, 34, and Axel, 41, were pulled over about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday after a police officer noticed one of the truck's headlights was out, according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.
During a search, the officer discovered burglary tools, including pliers, black ski masks, a glass punch and Slim Jims, the affidavit states. The officer also found the mail that belonged to 15 different people and included birth certificates, bank account statements and personal checks made out and signed.
Axel admitted to owning a black bag found in the truck that contained methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a diamond and some of the burglary tools, according to the affidavit.
Roxy and Axel were each booked for investigation of 51 counts of possession of burglary tools. Roxy was also booked for investigation of a pattern of unlawful activity, mail theft, possession of stolen property and other charges. Axel was also booked for investigation of various drug and stolen property charges.
