Arab man arrested for theft checks from Mailboxes

Rodney Watwood

Attalla police charged a man in connection with checks stolen from mailboxes and altered so they could be cashed.

The investigation began after an Attalla officer stopped a vehicle with an expired tag. The man gave him an ID that had been altered with a fake name and driver’s license number.

38 year old Rodney Watwood,  of Arab, was arrested Dec. 10 for a misdemeanor, giving false information and his vehicle was impounded.

When the vehicle was inventoried, police found a large number of checks from various people to various businesses, and investigators began contacting people about the checks.

Further investigation determined that the checks had been stolen from mailboxes around Attalla, Gadsden and even into Marshall County.

Police believe Watwood would drive around, stopping at mailboxes and looking through the mail, to find envelopes that appeared to be checks mailed to pay bills. Those checks were taken, and the amounts were altered to increase the amount, and the names were changed so that the checks could be cashed.

Investigators said Watwood had altered identification, putting his photo on a driver’s license to use in cashing checks. Police found checks that had been altered but not yet cashed in Watwood’s vehicle.

Watwood has been charged with four counts of possession of a forged instrument, and the investigation continues.