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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two men are now facing federal charges in the armed robbery of two USPS letter carriers last year in Boston, amid a surge in assaults on postal workers.
U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins' Office announced Friday that 22-year-old Myesha Lewis of Boston and 22-year-old Kenneth Demosthene of Stoughton have been arrested, charged, and made an initial appearance in Boston Federal Court.
On November 29th in Mattapan, prosecutors allege the two men "followed and then forcibly robbed" a USPS letter carrier of their arrow key, a key designed to open all the USPS collection boxes in an area. The suspects allegedly broke the key off a brass chain through force, pulling the worker off the front steps of a property, then fled in a rental vehicle.
Read more: Randolph Postal Worker Robbed, Reward Up To $50,000 Offered For Information
On December 16th in Hyde Park, Demosthene and Lewis are accused of following another postal worker and robbing them of their arrow key at knife-point.
According to court documents, USPS has seen a surge in arrow key thefts. Since July of last year, there have been at least 13 assaults on postal workers in Greater Boston. Most of those incidents were attempts to steal arrow keys, and the perpetrators were reportedly armed in six cases.
Lewis and Demosthene are facing "two counts each of robbery of any person having lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or of any money or other property of the United States, aiding and abetting; two counts each of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees, aiding and abetting."
Read more: Wellesley Police Warn Of USPS Blue Box Thefts And Check Fraud
After appearing in federal court Friday morning, the defendants were "released on special conditions." If convicted, the two men could face decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
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