Teens plead guilty to robbing 8 USPS mail carriers in Dallas-Fort Worth, some at gunpoint
Two men accused of robbing eight mail carriers in North Texas have pleaded guilty, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton said in a news release.
Jerrad Coleman and Louis Dixon, both 18, were each charged in April with robbery of property of the United States and conspiracy to rob and unlawfully possess property of the United States.
“The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will never cease placing employee safety as one of our top priorities,” said Inspector in Charge Kai Pickens, of the Fort Worth Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, in the news release Tuesday. “Let this serve as a warning to anyone who seeks to harm and traumatize our employees: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will utilize every resource to find you and bring you to justice.”
According to court documents, Coleman and Dixon looked for USPS mail carriers through Dallas-Fort Worth to obtain an arrow key, a master key used by USPS employees to collect mail deposited in blue USPS collection boxes.
Unauthorized possession of these keys allow thieves to illicitly gain access to mailboxes to steal mail containing sensitive information, according to the release.
Over a span of four months, the defendants conspired to commit robberies against USPS mail carriers, including the robberies that happened on the following dates and cities:
Jan. 17, Jan. 18, March 15, and April 17 in Fort Worth
Jan. 25, Jan. 29 in Dallas
March 28 in Arlington
April 4 in Frisco
After robbing the mail carriers, some of which happened at gunpoint, the two men fled in vehicles, federal authorities said. They then used, sold or disposed of the arrow keys.
They each face up to 15 years in prison at sentencing.
At a Feb. 22 rally in Dallas, members with the National Letter Carriers Association and USPS employees spoke about a surge of robberies of mail carriers, asking federal prosecutors to arrest and charge people suspected of the crimes.
The NALC asked people to report any crimes against mail carriers they might witness.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with the help of the Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth and Frisco Police Departments.
