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The United States Postal Inspection Service said two 16-year-old Somerville boys were responsible for the midday Dec. 10 robbery. Their names were withheld because of their ages.
Investigators said the boys were sitting on the steps of a home on Orchard Lane when the USPS carrier pulled up around 3 p.m. As the woman was walking back to the truck after delivering mail to a home on the street, the boys sidled up and showed her an airsoft pistol and a knife and demanded mail, the Middlesex District Attorney said.
The USPIS released surveillance photos of the suspects as they approached the driver and spoke to witnesses to identify the teens. Agents arrested them on Sunday, Dec. 18, in a car parked near a USPS collection box in Melrose with some of the items allegedly stolen from the earlier robbery, the DA's office said.
The teens allegedly learned about stealing mail containing checks as a way to make money through a TikTok trend, the prosecutor said.
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