Dover Man Arrested for Identity Theft, Forgery

HARTLY, Del. – The Delaware State Police have arrested a Dover man on felony identity theft charges after a month long investigation.

Police arrested 48-year-old Adrian Spence Jr. of Dover on Thursday, Dec. 4 on charges of identity theft, theft of $1,500 or greater, and forgery. He was arraigned and released on a $3,500 unsecured bond.

Troopers began an identity theft investigation on Oct. 20 after a resident on the 5700 block of Halltown Road reported stolen checks from a mailbox. Detectives learned that the victims had placed outgoing mail in their mailbox, including two checks. Soon after, they reported seeing a suspicious vehicle at the mailbox. The outgoing mail had disappeared after the vehicle left.

The victims notified their financial institution, which then placed a stop payment on the stolen checks. The following day, a male subject presented one of the checks at the Milford branch and identified himself as Spence Jr. Police say the payee section of the check had been altered to display his name. However, bank staff identified the fraud, declined the transaction, and notified the victims. Police subsequently obtained a warrant for Spence Jr.’s arrest.