Gunman who robbed USPS mail carrier during rounds in Fort Worth sentenced to 71 months
A gunman who robbed a United States Postal Service letter carrier of property and mail has been sentenced to 71 months in a federal prison, a federal official said.
The holdup occurred on April 11 during the letter carrier’s rounds in Fort Worth.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham announced the sentence for 22-year-old Abdirashid Omar. He was charged in May and pleaded guilty the next month to the federal charge of robbery of property of the United States. Omar was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry Means in Fort Worth.
“The day of the robbery was my 30th day at that job, it was going to be my first full week being out on the street by myself. Instead I got a gun shoved into my abdomen,” the victim said, according to a news release. She made the statement during sentencing. “It may just be a robbery to some people, but it was my life that was put in direct danger and it is I who has to put the pieces back.”
In court, Omar, who is from Fort Worth, admitted to robbing the carrier to obtain USPS property and to stealing mail.
The postal worker told authorities she was walking down the driveway of a Fort Worth residence when Omar, dressed in a black hoodie and blue surgical mask, grabbed her, pushed her into a fence, pressed a handgun into her abdomen, and took USPS equipment from her.
Surveillance video captured Omar’s car following the carrier to various residences and then fleeing the area at a high rate of speed. Postal inspectors found the vehicle and established surveillance that identified the vehicle visiting multiple post offices in the days following the robbery.
Several days later, law enforcement searched Omar’s vehicle and residence and found stolen U.S. mail, stolen checks, and a setup in which checks were being “washed” — placed into a liquid substance to have the ink removed.
“A top priority for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has always been a focus on the safety of USPS employees,” said Thomas Noyes, inspector in charge of the Fort Worth Division, in the news release “This sentencing exemplifies that commitment. Through a rapid response by Postal Inspectors, collaboration with local law enforcement, and the use of investigative tools and techniques, a dangerous individual was successfully apprehended. We thank the Fort Worth Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas for their support on this case.”
In plea papers, Omar admitted he robbed the letter carrier during her rounds in Fort Worth.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Fort Worth Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas prosecuted the case.
