CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Multiple residents in a Centennial neighborhood had their mail stolen Friday night, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. The theft occurred on the 5300 block of S. Olathe Circle.
Some residents expressed concerns that the theft was targeted since they received notifications that their mail-in ballots were supposed to arrive the same day. Neighbor Shawn Cochran showed Denver7 an email from USPS that said the ballot was supposed to arrive Friday night.
Cochran was out walking his dog when he noticed his mailbox was open. As he continued his walk down the street, Cochran noticed that many of the neighborhood mailboxes were also open and empty.
"I've been in this neighborhood for three years. I've never had mail theft," said Cochran. "I've never had a crime of any kind in this neighborhood.”
Cochran reported the crime to the sheriff's office, which spoke to neighbors in the area. Denver7 also reached out to ACSO, and they sent us the following statement:
Today, deputies responded to a report of mail theft in the 5300 block of S Olathe Cr in Centennial. Deputies found that the victim had his mail scanned by the post office and knew his ballot was taken from his mailbox. Several other mailboxes were found to be open in the area. An Offence Report was taken and will be forwarded to the Postal Inspector for investigation.
Cochran was one of the residents who received a notification that his mail-in ballot arrived the same day.
"Whether it was to hopefully get some credit cards and do something fraudulent, or if they were trying to disrupt the election process, either way, both of those are bad outcomes," said Cochran.
The United States Postal Service said the ballots weren't sent out Friday night. They said the update residents received was to notify them that the ballots had arrived at their local delivery station, but they would be sent to homes on Monday.
You can track the location of your mail-in ballot or request a replacement ballot on the Colorado Secretary of State page.