2nd man arrested in connection with mail theft in Leander
A second man was arrested last week in connection with a Leander mail theft case.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A second man was arrested last week in connection with a Leander mail theft case.
Travis County Jail records show Christopher Duplantier, 31, has at least nine charges including robbery, interfering with an emergency call, unauthorized use of a vehicle and motion to revoke probation, among other unlisted charges. He's being held on a combined $139,500 bond for all charges.
According to an arrest affidavit, Duplantier already had an active warrant for the robbery charge before he was named a suspect in the March 4 mail theft at the Crystal Falls HOA.
Exclusive surveillance video the KXAN Investigates team obtained (shown at top of story) was credited with helping to catch the other suspect in the mail theft case, Matthew Smart, 39. It turns out, authorities recognized him from KXAN’s news report, which is referenced multiple times in the arrest affidavit.
Both Duplantier and Smart are accused of using a U.S. Postal Service master key to open hundreds of mailboxes in a potential identity theft operation.
They also allegedly arrived at the HOA in a Jeep Renegade that was stolen from rental company Free2Move. The Jeep was later found spray painted black with the license plates removed.