A Richmond resident was sentenced on July 22 to three years and ten months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and mail theft.
According to court documents, Quavon William Smith, 40, used an arrow key between July and August 2025 to break into several blue collection boxes in Richmond and Henrico. Arrow keys are tools used by United States Postal Service mail carriers to access authorized mail receptacles. Smith was not employed by the Postal Service nor authorized to possess or use an arrow key. During many of these incidents, after removing mail from the collection box, Smith would place a different packet of mail back into the box.
On August 29, 2025, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service received an access alert and notified Henrico County Police. Authorities responded to the Lakeside Post Office, where Smith had accessed a collection box using the arrow key and transferred mail from the box to his vehicle.
Smith was found in possession of stolen mail that included several high-value checks as well as two loaded handguns. In 2009, he had been convicted in Chesterfield County Circuit Court for distribution of cocaine; as a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case while Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Podlesni prosecuted it. Related court documents can be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or through PACER by searching Case No. 3:25-cr-167.