The effort to rid Turlock of mail theft claimed a small victory Tuesday with the arrest of a Riverbank man found in possession of purloined letters and bills.

The Turlock Police Department arrested Salvador Arias, 29, on suspicion of possession of stolen property. Arias is not listed on the Stanislaus County Jail records and charges have yet to be filed by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office. Arias was sentenced to probation for a 2016 no contest plea to burglary and identity theft charges.

Arias’ arrest first came about after the police department got a report of a suspicious person at the Motel 6 at 250 S. Walnut.

Officers first made contact with Arias and an adult woman around 10 p.m. Tuesday at the motel and quickly discovered he was in possession of a stolen vehicle. Given Arias’ probationary status and that he admitted to being in possession of the stolen vehicle, the officers were able to search his motel room.

In the room officers found multiple items pertaining to identity theft and stolen mail. The mail and several checks were recovered at the scene.

The stolen mail and checks are still being processed, as this is an ongoing investigation. Identified victims will be contacted by the police department.

Mail theft has been an ongoing problem for the Turlock Police Department. Since April 30 the department has taken reports of eight mailboxes that were either damaged or had mail stolen out of the boxes. A majority of the thefts targeted the cluster mailboxes that serve multiple addresses.
Anyone who has any information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Detective James Brewer at 664-7331. You can also contact the Turlock Police Department’s Tip Line at 668-5550 extension 6780 or email at TPDtipline@turlock.ca.us.