The Jefferson County treasurer has permanently closed and announced plans to remove a property tax payment drop box after a failed attempt to steal the checks inside Tuesday.

The box, located outside of the Jefferson County Administration and Court Facility in Golden, was tampered with twice Tuesday night, according to county treasurer Jerry DiTullio.

The checks in the drop box were not accessed and the drop box was not breached, DiTullio stated in a news release Wednesday.

“The perpetrators tried to drill out the lock twice in one night. I have decided that the risk to taxpayers associated with any potential theft of tax payments and fraud against taxpayers is too significant to ignore,” DiTullio stated in the release. “My department has closed and locked the external drop box to prevent any further public access. Plans are underway to have the drop box permanently removed by our facilities team.”

A secondary drop box is available inside the front lobby of the court facility and be accessed Monday through Thursday, between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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