A St. Louis man has been sentenced to over two decades in prison for his role in a series of armed robberies targeting U.S. Postal Service workers. Xavier Sean Boyd, a 20-year-old resident of Jennings, received a prison term of 21 years and three months for conspiring to rob postal carriers to obtain keys used for mail collection boxes. This spree of criminal activity occurred during the summer of 2022, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
Boyd, along with others in the conspiracy, then used these stolen keys to commit theft and fraud by stealing checks from the mail. The June 1 armed robbery on Chambers Road in St. Louis County was part of a calculated effort to commit financial theft. Subsequently, Boyd and accomplice Roy Lee Jones deposited $19,199.60 worth of stolen checks into Jones' credit union account. Attempts to withdraw the funds largely failed, although they managed to secure $8,500 from the illicit endeavor, the Department of Justice detailed.
The crime spree continued with Jones robbing a second postal carrier on June 9, and Boyd successfully targeting a third carrier less than 20 minutes later. The arrest followed a high-speed chase after the third robbery when Boyd, driving his mother's SUV, crashed and was apprehended, along with Jones, who was taken into custody near a daycare center.
From prison Boyd attempted to interfere with the ongoing investigation as evident in a video call where he prompted a co-conspirator to work against the authorities. Despite these efforts, and his recent academic achievements, Boyd faced the weight of the law and pleaded guilty in September to counts that included robbery and firearm offenses. Similarly, Jones received an 84-month sentence in November after entering a guilty plea to charges related to the robbery and possession of firearms, as per the Department of Justice's announcement.
The case was handled by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the St. Louis County Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Dunkel prosecuting. The crack down on these violent crimes against postal workers is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative aiming to forge strong community ties and reduce gun violence, ensuring a more secure environment for all. "Postal Service employees play an integral role in our communities delivering mail to the American people. As public servants, postal employees must be allowed to do their job safely and securely," stated Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonça in the provided U.S Attorney's Office press release.
