BOSTON — A Boston woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to the armed robberies of U.S. Postal Service letter carriers in 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Myesha Lewis, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery of any person having lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or of any money or other property of the U.S., aiding and abetting and two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees, aiding and abetting.
The armed robberies happened in Mattapan on Nov. 29, 2022 and in Hyde Park on Dec. 16, 2022. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dennis F. Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Feb. 10.
Lewis was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2023, along with Kenneth Demosthene of Stoughton.
Last month, Demosthene was sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to the charges in July.
The U.S. Postal Service has seen a rise in the use of arrow keys to facilitate the theft of U.S. Mail, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
An arrow key is a specific key designed to open designated blue USPS collection boxes in a specific area. These arrow keys are the property of USPS and it is a federal offense for an unauthorized person to possess one.
Since July 2022, there have been at least 23 assaults on USPS letter carriers in Boston and surrounding cities and towns, and 15 of those assaults involved assailants armed with a knife, firearm, or both, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
These incidents included the attempted or successful robbery of USPS arrow keys from letter carriers.
On Nov. 29, 2022, in Mattapan, Lewis and Demosthene forcibly robbed a USPS letter carrier of an arrow key, prosecutors said.
Demosthene approached the letter carrier and said, “I’m going to need your master key,” before reaching into the letter carrier’s mail satchel and grabbing the arrow key, prosecutors said. The key was secured around the letter carrier’s belt with a brass chain.
“The force used to physically break the brass chain caused the letter carrier to be pulled off the front steps,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement this week. Lewis and Demosthene then fled the scene in a rental vehicle.
On Dec. 16, 2022 in Hyde Park, Lewis and Demosthene robbed another USPS letter carrier of an arrow key at knife point, prosecutors said.
Demosthene approached the USPS letter carrier and said, “Give me your (expletive) arrow key,” prosecutors said.
The letter carrier put their hands in the air as the two attempted to remove the arrow key, at first by force pulling at the chain, prosecutors said. Lewis and Demosthene then tried to cut it with the knife, eventually breaking it loose and running away on foot.
The charges 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 each provide for a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
The charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
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