TAMPA, Fla. — As efforts continue to curb mail theft and crime against U.S. Postal Service workers locally and nationwide, the U.S. Attorney's Office said five Floridians face federal charges for their involvement in robbing USPS mail carriers at gunpoint.
Both armed robberies happened in September in the Tampa area, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Roger Handberg explained during a Friday morning news conference.
"Robbing a postal carrier is not a path to riches," Handberg warned. "It is a path to investigation, arrest, indictment, conviction and prison."
The first armed robbery of a USPS mail carrier happened on Sept. 5 at a Temple Terrace apartment complex. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, three Tampa men robbed the USPS mail carrier at gunpoint while demanding his keys.
The release said they grabbed the mail carrier's cell phone and smashed it on the ground before leaving the scene together in a car. The three people — 20-year-old Jordan Brown, 19-year-old Jordan Murray and 18-year-old Darine Underwood — were charged with armed robbery and aiding and abetting the armed robbery of a USPS mail carrier.
Handberg says Underwood has not been taken into custody but has an active arrest warrant issued.
The second armed robbery of a USPS mail carrier took place on Sept. 21 in South Tampa. The U.S. Attorney's Office says two Miramar men robbed two USPS mail carriers while they were on their routes in South Tampa.
The men pointed a gun at one of the carriers and demanded his "serialized" keys. According to a release, GPS data from their car showed they had traveled from Miramar to Tampa "for the purpose of committing the armed robberies."
Christopher Raymond, 20, and 19-year-old Andre Hylton are charged with armed robbery and aiding and abetting the armed robbery of a USPS mail carrier and brandishing a firearm and aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Both cases are now moving through federal court in Tampa, Handberg said.
With mail theft and postal carrier robberies up, law enforcement officials have made more than 600 arrests since May in a crackdown launched to address crime that includes carriers being accosted at gunpoint for their antiquated universal keys, the Postal Service announced back in October.
Criminals are both stealing mail and targeting carriers' so-called “arrow keys” to get access to mailboxes.
To reduce robberies, the Postal Service is in the process of replacing tens of thousands of postal carriers’ universal keys that are sought by criminals seeking to steal mail to commit check fraud, officials said. So far, 6,500 of the keys have been replaced with electronic locks in select cities, and another 42,500 are set to be deployed, officials said. The Postal Service has declined to say how many of the arrow keys are in service.
To prevent mail theft, the Postal Service also has deployed more than 10,000 high-security blue boxes in high-risk locations to prevent people from breaking into them.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is leading the effort with other internal units and outside law enforcement agencies. Early efforts focused on organized mail crime in Chicago, San Francisco and several cities across Ohio.
Of the 600-plus arrests made since May as part of “Operation Safe Delivery,” more than 100 were for robberies while more than 530 were for mail theft, officials told reporters Wednesday.
The penalty is steep for interfering with the mail.
Theft alone can be punished by up to five years in prison; possession or disposal of postal property carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Assaulting a mail carrier can also lead to a 10-year sentence for a first-time offense. Repeat offenders can get 25 years for an assault.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.