FORT WORTH, Texas — The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest of an armed robber who targeted a mail carrier in Fort Worth.
The reward shows just how serious authorities are taking these crimes, trying to do anything they can to keep postal employees safe.
Per a press release Friday about the robbery, it happened just after 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 at 3755 Sydney St. in Fort Worth. A photo shared by the postal inspectors shows the suspect carrying a weapon.
He is described as a 5 feet 8 inches tall man in his late teens to early 20s, with a thin build, wearing a gray jacket, black pants, white shoes, and an orange mask.
This is the second time in recent weeks a mail carrier was robbed in the D-FW metroplex. On Dec. 28, 2023, a USPS letter carrier was delivering mail in Dallas when they were approached by two robbers.
Criminals are both stealing mail and targeting carriers' so-called “arrow keys” to get access to mailboxes. USPS officials say criminals are increasingly targeting the mail to commit financial crimes like altering checks to obtain money.
Robbing a mail carrier is a federal felony that carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
USPS started a campaign in May 2023 called Project Safe Delivery. It's a nationwide effort to crack down on postal crime and crimes against postal workers. The agency upgraded collection boxes with new electronic locks. It also tripled the reward money for information leading to a conviction.
Under Project Safe Delivery, the USPS has developed a sophisticated system to identify, intercept, and retain counterfeit or hijacked labels on packages, using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analysis. Since the start of the program, counterfeit package postage in the postal network has significantly reduced by more than 50%. This data is according to an Oct. 2023 update posted on USPS' website.
Anyone with information about the robberies us asked to call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.