U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual | U.S. Department of Justice
A man has been charged in federal court for robbing a United States Postal Service carrier at gunpoint in a Chicago suburb. A second individual faces charges for firing shots at investigators near the robbery scene.
Ahmel Holmes, 18, from Kankakee, Illinois, allegedly robbed the postal carrier on January 8, 2025, in Harvey, Illinois. According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Holmes approached the postal worker with a gun equipped with a drum magazine while she was delivering mail along East 158th Street near Union Avenue. He demanded her belongings and access to her postal vehicle from which he took a USPS tub containing mail.
Shortly after the incident, two Postal Inspectors were canvassing the area when they noticed three individuals near an alley. As they approached them, one of the men—Jesus Santillan, 19, of Harvey—allegedly pointed a handgun at the inspectors and fired shots. The inspectors were unharmed and did not return fire but pursued Santillan into a nearby residence where he was arrested. Holmes was also found there and taken into custody.
Holmes is charged with armed robbery of a postal carrier and could face up to 25 years in federal prison if convicted. Santillan is charged with using a deadly weapon to assault postal inspectors and impede their duties; this charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years.
A detention hearing for Holmes is scheduled for January 14, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffery T. Gilbert. Santillan waived his right to a detention hearing at this stage and remains held in federal custody.
The announcement came from Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ruth Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Harvey Police Department provided valuable assistance in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Maione represents the government.
The public is reminded that charges are not evidence of guilt; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt at trial.
