ALAMO HEIGHTS, Texas – Police arrested a pair of cousins at the Amegy Bank at 5408 Broadway Thursday on charges of forgery and possessing identifying information.
Inside the car belonging to the man and woman, police found a multitude of allegedly stolen items, including driver's licenses, social security cards, W2 forms, cellphones, laptops, tablets and fake or stolen checks.
Some of the checks were found tucked inside the Old Testament.
"The female suspect had a Bible with her name on it, and inside that Bible were several of what we believe to be stolen checks," said Sgt. Tom Vitacco with the Alamo Heights Police Department.
Employees of the bank called AHPD to report the man and woman were trying to pass a fake check.
Investigators believe the stolen identifying information was swiped from mailboxes in San Antonio.
But the electronics might have been obtained a different way, according to Vitacco.
"At this point in the investigation, it looks like they were purchased using stolen money received from the forgeries because there were multiple items of the same item, like three brand new GPS's in the box," he said.
Vitacco cautions against putting sensitive outgoing mail in unsecured mailboxes or leaving valuables in your car, even the kind that come in an envelope.
"Often times with your mail being stolen, if there's any identifying information on it, that can create more problems in the future because that leads to identity theft, fictitious accounts being set up and really causing a lot more turmoil in your life than just say, having your phone stolen," said Vitacco.
If they are found to be in possession of more than 50 stolen items, the charges against the man and woman could be upgraded to a first-degree felony.