A federal jury convicted DeAngelo Lewis, a 30-year-old Washington, DC resident, on April 24 for a series of armed robberies targeting United States Postal Service mail carriers across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. The verdict follows an eight-day trial in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about the safety of postal workers and the integrity of the mail system. Prosecutors said that Lewis and his co-conspirators robbed seven mail carriers at gunpoint in 2022. The group stole postal-service keys to access public collection boxes and neighborhood cluster boxes. They then took checks from the mail and altered them to steal nearly $1 million from victims.
According to evidence presented at trial, Lewis used firearms during these robberies. In one incident, a masked individual struck a carrier even after obtaining the key. Surveillance footage captured several robberies as they occurred. Investigators also linked vehicles known to be driven by Lewis—a black Mercedes sedan and a blue Dodge Challenger—to scenes of the crimes.
Law enforcement identified Lewis through bank surveillance videos showing him depositing stolen checks. A search of his Marlow Heights apartment uncovered approximately 1,500 undeposited checks worth nearly $3 million along with check-altering materials and five stolen postal keys. Social media evidence showed that Lewis recruited others through platforms like Instagram and Telegram to use their accounts for depositing altered checks.
Lewis faces mandatory minimum sentences totaling at least twelve years in federal prison for using firearms during violent crimes related to two specific robberies in January and October 2022; additional charges could increase his sentence up to life imprisonment for armed robbery, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud, as well as other related offenses.
Co-conspirators Marking Long of Washington D.C., age 24, and Enrico Hood-Jackson of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, age 32—have pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended law enforcement agencies involved: "I want to thank Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darren S. Gardner and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Jaskiw who are prosecuting this federal case." The U.S Attorney’s Office is part of the Department of Justice according to its official website.
The office employs over 200 personnel across civil, criminal, and administrative divisions according to its official website, serving nearly six million residents throughout Maryland according to its official website. It prosecutes federal crimes such as those committed by Lewis while also handling civil cases on behalf of the government according to its official website. Tracing its origins back more than two centuries,the office partners with law enforcement agencies statewide.
