Horseshoe Bay postal carrier arrested on multiple charges related to mail theft

A contracted postal carrier, 49-year-old Melanie Rodriguez, was recently arrested in Horseshoe Bay on four different charges related to stealing mail. 

According to the Horseshoe Bay Police Department, an investigation began when it received a report on Jan. 9 that a gift card had been used fraudulently. Rodriguez was then arrested on Jan. 23 and charged with theft of mail, a state jail felony. 

She was arrested again on Friday, Feb. 20, on three more charges: credit card or debit abuse of the elderly, a third-degree felony; fraudulent possession identifying information, a state jail felony; and credit card or debit card abuse, another state jail felony. 

As of Tuesday, Feb. 24, Rodriguez was still in the Burnet County Jail, being held on a total of $90,000 in bonds. 

Horseshoe Bay Police Chief Jason Graham confirmed that Rodriguez was an independently contracted postal carrier, not an official employee of the U.S. Postal Service. 

While Horseshoe Bay has its own post office, it does not have its own post master, and is under the authority of the U.S. Post Office in Marble Falls, at 1212 N. U.S. 281. When asked directly by DailyTrib whether or not Rodriguez was working on behalf of the post office, the location’s supervisor did not provide comment. 

Chief Graham said that he could not provide more information on the case, as the investigation was ongoing. 

“We anticipate further investigations and charges involving this,” he told DailyTrib.

Graham did address social media rumors surrounding the case. A Facebook post made following the arrest alleged that “over 600 pieces of opened mail” were found in Rodriguez’s vehicle. The chief said that it was not quite that many.

“We have heard that a lot of people in this community are upset with the mail service,” he said. “So I think that could be adding fuel to the fire.”

dakota@thepicayune.com