Robbery Took Place Last Summer in Southeast Washington
WASHINGTON - Lafonzo Williams, 51, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted and remains detained pending trial on a federal charge stemming from an armed robbery last summer of a United States Postal Service (USPS) Letter Carrier in Southeast Washington.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Williams was arrested on Feb. 12, 2019 following his earlier indictment on a charge of robbery of mail, money, or other property of the United States. He pled not guilty at his first court appearance that day in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. At a hearing today, Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey ordered that he remain detained pending trial.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 5, 2018, at approximately 2:35 p.m., Williams walked up to a Postal Service truck parked in the rear of the Frederick Douglass Post Office, located in the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue SE. He allegedly pulled himself into the back of the truck, where the postal worker was sorting mail. He then allegedly pulled a knife from the pocket of the shorts he was wearing and took several mail bags from the driver. He allegedly fled the scene in a minivan he had parked nearby.
If convicted, Williams faces a statutory maximum of 25 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
