San Antonio Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of Michael Ray Dotson, a 40-year-old man accused of stealing mail from more than 30 addresses across the city. Dotson is wanted on two active Bexar County Sheriff's Office warrants, and authorities describe him as 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 190 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, the first warrant charges Dotson with third-degree felony theft of mail from more than 30 addresses, while the second accuses him of felony criminal mischief involving at least $2,500 in damage. Anyone with information can submit tips to San Antonio Crime Stoppers. Tips can be called in at 210-224-STOP (210-224-7867).
A City Already Grappling With Mailbox Break-Ins
Dotson's case lands amid a broader surge in mail theft that has kept both San Antonio police and federal investigators busy. By early October 2025, at least six people suspected of stealing mail in the San Antonio area had already landed in the Bexar County jail, per the station's report from ksat.com. Those arrests stemmed from separate cases handled by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office and the San Antonio Police Department, the outlet noted.
The numbers behind that wave of arrests paint a telling picture. San Antonio police reported 70 thefts involving 30 or more addresses in 2023, a figure that climbed to 97 in 2024 and reached 126 through September 2025, according to prior Hoodline reporting. Over that same stretch, the city also logged 4,658 reported mail-theft offenses involving fewer than 10 addresses. There were 35 arrests during that period.
Task Force and Prevention Push
To confront the scale of the problem, San Antonio police assembled a task force bringing together SAPD investigators, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Postal Service and area homeowners and apartment associations, according to the same Hoodline report. The city has also rolled out a mailbox-theft awareness campaign, which the City of San Antonio says aims to empower residents through prevention strategies and timely reporting to authorities.
Federal postal officials have weighed in with practical advice for residents worried about their own mailboxes. The USPS recommends collecting mail daily and doing so as soon as possible after it arrives, and suggests residents consider post office box delivery as an added safeguard, ksat.com reported.
Other Recent Cases Show a Pattern
Dotson's alleged scheme echoes other mail-theft busts reported around Bexar County in recent months. In September 2025, three people — identified as Jason Walsh, Ashley Silici and Dakota James Mills — faced felony mail-theft charges after an off-duty U.S. Postal Service employee witnessed a man breaking into multiple mailboxes using a key, according to news4sanantonio.com. When deputies stopped the trio's vehicle, they found a large trash bag filled with stolen mail along with a firearm and drug paraphernalia inside, the station reported.
In a separate Oakland Heights case detailed in Hoodline's earlier coverage, a suspect reportedly forced a gate open with a crowbar before using a key to access mailboxes. Together, the cases illustrate a recurring method across the region: thieves targeting cluster mailboxes, sometimes with keys, sometimes with brute force, to harvest mail from dozens of addresses at once.
For now, Dotson remains at large, and investigators are counting on public tips to bring him in. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact San Antonio Crime Stoppers rather than attempt contact themselves.
