News 12 First @ Five -- December 22, 2009

AIKEN, S.C. --- Just in time for the holidays, family and friends are sending out Christmas cards and cash in the mail but you're not the only one looking for what surprises may be in the mailbox.

As Bill Haselden rakes his final stack of leaves before Christmas morning, he's says he's worried about thieves raking in his Christmas cash after a neighbor finds a teen stealing mail from their boxes.

"We need to be real careful and I'm talking to myself now because I've got a couple checks in the mailbox and I'm going to get them out and take them to the Post Office," said Haseldon. And that's just what he did after News 12 told him about the thefts that led Aiken Public Safety to arrest 19-year old Bobby James Turner. Officers say after questioning the teen, they learned he was looking for Christmas cards and cash inside homeowners mailboxes.

"This time of the year is potentially a bit more profitable for people who are doing that. There's often cash going out, coming in, gift cards, things like that," said Sgt. Aaron Dowdy with Aiken Public Safety.

Officers believe Turner stole both incoming and outgoing mail from multiple homes in at least four neighborhoods inside the city including Dogwood Road, Dunbarton Circle, Boardman Road and Grace Avenue. And while he may have been looking for money for the holidays, neighbors like Bill say there's still no excuse.

"There's never a right time to do wrong, no matter the situation. It's always right to do the right thing, but never right to do wrong," said Haseldon.

It's a crime of opportunity investigators say Bobby James Turner went looking for but because of it, he now finds himself in trouble with the law.
Turner is charged with larceny. Any federal charges will have to come from the postmaster, but public safety don't believe that will be the case.