Armed Robbery Of Mail Carriers
For as long as the digital native generation has been alive, people have been saying that the postal mail is becoming obsolete. Today, people only use the mail to send things that are of priceless sentimental value, such as handwritten letters and homemade gifts, or else things that would be of interest to thieves, such as counterfeit opioid pills. Mail carriers are among the few whose jobs are unlikely to be replaced by AI, and for this reason, they hold a certain mystique. It takes a certain fortitude to face hostile neighborhood dogs every day. From the early 1960s, when “Please Mr. Postman” became a summer hit, until the 1990s, when “going postal” became a slang term for going on a violent rampage after enduring decades of frustration at an unglamorous job, we have had the feeling that postal workers hold more power than we give them credit for. They carry our mail, which contains our secrets. A recent set of attacks on mail carriers highlights the vulnerability of postal workers to being assaulted on the job. If you are being accused of stealing mail or robbing a postal worker while he or she was on duty, contact a Pittsburgh criminal defense lawyer.
Crimes Directly and Indirectly Related to the Mail
You have probably heard that it is illegal to open someone’s mail; perhaps you remind your nosey housemates of this every time one of them brings in a stack of mail from the mailbox. Mail theft is also a criminal offense separate from, and more serious than, petty larceny. Likewise, you can get charged with mail fraud if you transmit communications through the postal mail that include false statements with the aim of defrauding someone out of money.
In the News
Police have arrested four young men in the Pittsburgh area in what they believe to be an organized mail theft scheme. The four defendants are Mar’Sean Barkley, Mar’Quan Davis, Devin Hasley, and Ronin Kelley. Barkley and Kelley are 20 years old, and Davis and Hasley are 18. The investigation began after two armed robberies of mail carriers in and near Pittsburgh. In one of the robberies, a masked man stole skeleton keys from a mail carrier outside a post office after threatening him at gunpoint and then used them to open mailboxes inside the post office. It appears that the four defendants who have been arrested were looking for checks in the stolen mail, since police found opened pieces of mail in their car, as well as several checks that customers had apparently enclosed in greeting cards. Only one of the defendants is suspected of having a connection to either of the armed robberies.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for unauthorized opening of mail, mail theft, assault on a postal employee, or another offense related to postal mail. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Source:
cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/mail-theft-investigation-bridgeville-upper-st-clair/?intcid=CNR-02-0623
