A $150,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect involved in the armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier in Memphis. The incident occurred on Monday at The Landings Apartments in the Hickory Hill area, as reported by Action News 5.
The USPS worker was delivering mail around lunchtime when the robbery took place. Fortunately, the carrier was not harmed during the encounter. Eyewitnesses spotted a suspect driving away from the scene in a newer model Nissan Altima, according to details shared by Local Memphis. The suspect is described as 20 to 28, 5’7” to 5’10” tall, and roughly 220 to 230 lbs, clad in a black hoodie, black skull cap, black jeans, black ski mask, and wearing block-framed eyeglasses.
In a statement obtained by FOX13 Memphis, Frank Albergo, the National President of the Postal Police Officers Association, expressed his frustration at the lack of protection for mail carriers. He highlighted that USPS has postal police officers not being used to safeguard mail carriers and questioned the rationale behind this. "It’s insane. They are already paying us, so why don’t they use us. It makes no sense," Albergo said.
Albergo also provided alarming statistics, underlining an escalation in mail carrier robberies, with over 600 incidents occurring in the fiscal year 2023, a stark increase from the 63 recorded in 2019. The motive behind such attacks is commonly the theft of master keys, also known as arrow keys, which provide access to mailboxes across entire zip codes, putting the local communities at risk of mail theft, Albergo explained to FOX13 Memphis.
Residents of Memphis, especially those anticipating holiday deliveries, voiced concern for the safety of USPS workers and stressed the need for better protection. "If it’s a problem that happens a lot with mail carriers getting robbed, then it makes sense to have somebody following around to protect them," Matthew Davidoff told FOX13 Memphis. Toya Gillard echoed these sentiments, "You cannot replace a life. I’d rather their life be saved other than worry about a package. I’d be sad. But I’d rather they be protected and safe and sound," she said.
The USPS is actively working on transitioning to digital arrow keys to reduce mail thefts, but in the meantime, they are urging anyone with information on the recent robbery to contact the United States Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 or CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH (2274).
