A Memphis mother and her son have been sentenced to a combined 45½ years in federal prison for a brazen scheme that targeted postal workers and drained checks from blue collection mailboxes across the city. On April 15, 2026, 25-year-old Marshun Lewis was handed a 42-year sentence, and on May 8, 2026, his mother, 46-year-old Lakita Carroll, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Lewis was convicted after a four-day trial as the masked gunman who robbed postal carriers to get their keys to blue USPS collection boxes. Investigators said he then used those keys to steal checks and money orders, alter the payee information, and funnel the proceeds into third-party accounts. Postal inspectors reported that surveillance footage showed Lewis’s vehicle at multiple robbery scenes, stolen mail and a keychain for one of the missing postal keys were seized from his home, and text messages on his phone were tied directly to the crimes. Prosecutors said the scheme netted more than $940,000 in stolen checks and money orders.
“This mother’s greed led to her son’s extreme violence,” U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said in the announcement. Atlanta Division Inspector in Charge Rodney Hopkins added, “We will use every resource available when our postal carriers are robbed.” The release stated that the robberies took place in August 2023 and then again in October, November and December of 2024 at locations across Memphis. The U.S. Attorney’s Office issued notice of the sentencings on May 14, 2026.
How the scheme worked
Prosecutors and local reports say Lewis zeroed in on letter carriers for one thing in particular, the specialized keys that open blue USPS collection boxes. Once he had those keys, he could pull out checks and money orders, which were then altered and cashed or re-deposited. Surveillance cameras placed his vehicle at multiple robbery scenes, and court documents say Carroll joined in by depositing some of the stolen items into her own bank account before later pleading guilty. As reported by Action News 5, inspectors calculated the total losses at more than $940,000.
Charges and sentences
Lewis was convicted on four counts of robbery and four counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, along with one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and possession of stolen mail, according to earlier coverage. Carroll pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud. U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker imposed the 42-year sentence for Lewis and the 3½-year sentence for Carroll. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Musselwhite and William Bateman, according to coverage of the armed postal robberies case.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Memphis Police Department. Court calendars document the separate sentencing hearings held in April and May 2026. The case has drawn local attention for its bold targeting of working mail carriers and the sheer volume of stolen checks, and prosecutors said the sentences mark an end to the family’s criminal enterprise. The detailed timeline and evidence were laid out in court records and local reporting, including the U.S. District Court calendar and coverage by Action News 5.
