NORFOLK, Va. — At least three men from Hampton Roads face charges and were recently arrested in connection with the armed robberies of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carriers, federal prosecutors said.
The alleged crimes spanned multiple localities in the 757 region and trace back to incidents in 2023.
A nearly 30-page grand jury indictment filed in March lists five defendants. Authorities arrested at least three of them last week, according to U.S. attorneys.
In a news release, the suspects most recently arrested were the following:
- Ricky Damion Christopher Jones, Jr., 20, of Virginia Beach
- Samir As-Sad Hurd, 23, of Chesapeake
- Manray A. C. Perry, 22, of Virginia Beach
They accuse the trio of playing a role in robbing mail carriers at gunpoint and stealing what's called "arrow keys" or master keys to access checks and personal information from stolen mail for the suspects' gains.
Frank Albergo, national president of the union group Postal Police Officers Association or PPOA, described a "postal crime wave" happening in the U.S.
"Right now, mail theft is at epidemic levels. It's spreading across America like wildfire. Quite frankly, every day a letter carrier has a gun stuck in their face demanding those arrow keys," said Albergo.
Federal prosecutors said that kind of instance took place multiple times as part of a larger spree across Norfolk, James City County and Hampton last year.
Based on indictment paperwork, some of the defendants took part in a group chat to allegedly outline their criminal plans.
"The Postal Service originally started hardening those blue collection boxes. It made mailbox fishing more difficult, but it was no secret keys open locks, so the criminals decided 'Well, now that we can't fish mail, let's rob a letter carrier and let's steal all the mail,'" said Albergo.
Several Norfolk residents 13News Now spoke with expressed concern.
"I don't use the blue boxes, I go into the post office, and more than that, now here at the Lafayette post office, they are locking the doors when the post office is not open," said one woman.
At least three other co-conspirators in the same group of suspects pleaded guilty late last year and await sentencing this year, federal prosecutors said.
"I really think it's wrong. If they get caught, they need to get the maximum amount of time," said another woman.
Someone convicted of robbing a USPS employee can face up to 25 years in prison, according to federal law.
Albergo advocates for the deployment of uniformed postal police to protect mail and the employees targeted.
"Historically, the most effective tool to combat postal-related street crime has been the postal police force. Right now, we're sitting in facilities," he posited.
“The security of Postal employees is a top priority for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Postal Inspectors aggressively investigate any threats, assaults, or robberies against our employees," a U.S. Postal Inspection Service spokesperson told 13News Now.
Moreover, Diane Toscano, a Virginia Beach-based lawyer representing Jones, said her client "...grew up here and comes from a good family. These are merely accusations, and we shouldn't rush to any judgments. I look forward to defending Ricky against these charges."
Attorneys for Hurd and Perry did not have a comment to share with 13News Now.
The suspects' cases will be prosecuted at the federal court building in Richmond.