California Man Indicted in Mail Carrier Robbery Case

Mail boxes sit in front of a United State Postal Service facility in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 13, 2020. Scott Olson/Getty Images

A Sacramento man faces four federal counts in connection to the armed robbery of a postal carrier and possession of mail keys, a federal grand jury indictment unsealed on Nov. 25 revealed.

William Carl Jackson, 36, was indicted on two counts of armed robbery of a postal carrier and two counts of possessing mail keys, according to U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert in Sacramento.

Federal prosecutors allege that Jackson robbed postal carriers on July 11 and July 31 in Sacramento County, according to a court indictment.

He was arrested by Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies Nov. 11 and remains in custody at the county’s main jail facility, inmate records show.

He is suspected of brandishing a black-and-tan pistol at both postal carriers and ordering them to turn over postal keys.

Authorities allege Jackson would take the keys and flee on a bicycle.

The Sacramento Magistrate Judge Jeremy Peterson ruled Jackson remain in custody without bail until his trial after he pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday.

If convicted, Jackson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 25 years in prison for each robbery count and 10 years for each count of possession of a mail key.

Each count also carries a maximum statutory fine of $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

His next court date has not yet been scheduled, according to inmate records.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, investigated Jackson’s case.

Robberies of mail carriers and thefts of mail keys have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to U.S. Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet.

A post office worker delivers mail to a community in San Diego, Calif., on Oct. 1, 2021. Jane Yang/The Epoch Times

“At this point, this is a nationwide problem where letter carriers are being robbed for postal keys,” Norfleet told The Epoch Times Oct. 24.

The criminals have created an underground market for the keys, which open large community mailboxes to allow them access to mail and checks, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Multiple cases involving the theft of mail keys have caused concern for postal carriers around the country. Mail carriers became a preferred target of thieves during the pandemic because many retailers had closed, according to the Pacific Research Institute, an advocate of free markets.

On Tuesday, an Indiana man was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $121,000 in restitution for assaulting a letter carrier with a deadly weapon in Gary, Indiana, in April 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jerron Donte Williams, 34, of Gary, Indiana, pleaded guilty to assaulting and inflicting bodily harm on a mail carrier with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm during the assault.

Federal prosecutors say Williams fired at the mail carrier while his postal truck was in motion. Bullets struck the vehicle four times and shattered the right-side window, causing injuries to the driver.

In another case in Denver, Colorado, Marquis Taylor, 28, and Elijah Woods, 21, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov 21 on one count each of conspiracy, assault with the intent to rob a mail carrier, and mail theft.

The defendants allegedly robbed a postal carrier in September 2023 while she was on duty in her mail truck, according to federal prosecutors with the DOJ. The men allegedly stole mail, packages, and a postal scanner.

An alleged accomplice, Dravell Emon Ross, 28, was sentenced to federal prison for four years in connection to the robbery on July 17.