Federal authorities investigating a string of armed robberies in Dallas are offering rewards of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects in each case.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has reported three separate incidents across the city in recent months.
“We won’t rest until we find those individuals responsible,” said U.S. Postal Inspector Sean Smith.
The latest happened on Jan. 29 at around 4:15 p.m. at the Oaks of North Dallas on Haverwood Lane. The apartment community has a sign posted outside the leasing office labeling it a habitual crime property.
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The mail carrier was reportedly approached by a suspect described as a Black male, about 5’10”, in his early 20s, wearing a black hoodie, red shorts with a black and white stripe, black socks and white shoes.
Smith is not able to disclose what exactly transpired but says the carrier was not hurt.
The agency is investigating two previous armed robberies.
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A suspect wearing a full-face mask and a letterman jacket with white sleeves and navy blue lettering reportedly held up a mail carrier at the Sophia Apartments on Hudnall Street on Jan. 12. This suspect is approximately 5’10”, in his teens or early 20s. The federal employee in this case was also unharmed.
On Dec. 28, two men were accused of holding up a letter carrier at 3525 Colonial Avenue in Dallas at about 11:25 a.m. There is only a vague description of the masked suspects in this case.
No injuries were reported in this case.
Smith can only say the employees responded by using their training. He says it’s not known if the three cases involve the same suspects or are connected in any way. Criminals, he says, are typically after ‘postal assets’ like keys carriers use to open mailboxes.
The crooks will steal mail, and in many cases, use information to commit identity theft.
“I just don’t ever want to see a carrier get hurt,” said Smith. “You’re talking about first-year carriers to carriers that have been on the job for 30-plus years that are being affected, and for them not to be able to safely do their job and be in fear of being robbed is something we take seriously.”
Robbery of on-duty postal employees is on the rise across the nation, according to statistics provided by the inspector’s office.
The number of cases reported in 2022 was 423, exponentially higher than the 94 robberies reported in 2019. A fraction of these federal crimes result in arrests and convictions, according to the data. Convictions can carry up to ten years in federal prison.
The U.S. Postal Service launched the Project Safe Delivery campaign in 2023 to crack down on postal crimes and/or attacks against postal employees, in part, by increasing reward amounts.
"The USPS initiative aims at combatting a recent rise in threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail theft incidents by protecting Postal employees and the security of the nation’s mail and packages," according to a USPS press release.
“For us to up the reward amount shows how serious we are with this project,” said Smith. “It’s a very traumatic event. There is a true victim here of a violent crime.”
If you have any information about any of the robberies, you are urged to contact the: U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 (say “Law Enforcement”)
- Dec. 28 case: Reference Case No. 4220598-ROBB
- Jan. 12 case: Reference Case No. 4228391-ROBB
- Jan. 29 case: Reference Case No. 4237771-ROBB
All information will be kept strictly confidential.
