ST. LOUIS – Two men have admitted robbing three U.S. Postal Service mail carriers at gunpoint in St. Louis County in 2022 in order to steal checks from the mail.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Roy Lee Jones, 22, and Xavier Sean Boyd, 20, confessed to being part of a group of five young people who, in the summer of 2022, plotted to steal checks from the mail, alter said checks, and deposit them into accounts belonging to third parties.
Boyd pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three counts of robbery and two counts of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a robbery.
Jones pleaded guilty on August 13 to one count of robbery, one count of theft of a mail key, and one count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a robbery.
According to prosecutors, a masked Jones approached a mail carrier on June 1, 2022, on Chambers Road. Police said he demanded an “arrow key,” which opens certain USPS collection boxes. About 18 minutes later, authorities said Boyd robbed a different mail carrier of his arrow key, a half-mile away from the first incident.
The group used that arrow key four days to steal mail from collection boxes in Berkeley, West Florissant, Normandy, Overland, and Ferguson. However, they were unable to recruit a person who’d allow their bank account to be used in the scheme. Boyd and Jones used their own accounts.
Prosecutors said they deposited $19,199.60 in stolen checks into Jones’ credit union account on June 7, 2022, and unknown sum of money into Boyd’s account. They attempted to withdraw $19,200 in cash from Jones’ account the following day but could only withdraw $8,500. The remainder was reclaimed after the scheme was uncovered. No money could be withdrawn from Boyd’s account.
Boyd robbed another mail carrier of his arrow key around 12:30 p.m. on June 9, 2022, near Lindbergh Boulevard and New Halls Ferry Road. He robbed a third mail carrier less than 20 minutes later, but police spotted Boyd’s SUV and arrested both he and Jones following a brief high-speed chase. Police located the arrow keys and guns inside the vehicle.
Jones will be sentenced on November 15, while Boyd will be sentenced on December 18. Each count of robbery carries a 25-year maximum sentence. The theft charges carry a maximum 10-year term. And the firearm charges have a minimum sentence of seven years, which would run consecutive to all other charges.
