Dallas Police Take Alleged Package Thief Off The Streets
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A woman named by Dallas police as a suspect in multiple package thefts was turned in by her neighbors.
Aubrey White says she saw the videos that victims were sharing online and showed a neighbor.
"I recognized the car and he immediately recognized the girl," she said.
The thief, they told police, was 33-year-old Kelli Russell, who lives in their apartment complex.
Social media accounts reveal she works as a model and bartender. She's also chronicled her international travel.
"As far as I know, she's a nice girl, so this is a total shock," said Leann Dawson.
In retrospect, neighbors say, she did seem to throw out a lot of boxes.
"Took packages, boxes to that dumpster across the street, because ours was full," said White.
Dallas police arrested Russell Thursday night for traffic violations, including driving without a license plate.
Detectives obtained a warrant to search her apartment, where police say they found "a large amount of stolen packages."
"An insane amount of things," White describes. "They took two police cars, like the trunks and the backseats were both full of packages and stuff."
Friends recently donated more than $300 to a GoFundMe account to help Russell, a self-described "hard working girl," buy a car.
Dawson said she often helped out her next-door neighbor too.
"She received a lot of packages," said Dawson. "We just watched, made sure no one confiscated them."
She now finds the neighborly courtesy a little ironic.
Russell was released from jail Friday afternoon.
Dallas Police say most of the thefts she's suspected of committing were never reported. They're now tracking down victims to try to determine how much all the stolen items are worth. They plan combine the value to charge her with a more serious aggregate theft charge.