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A federal grand jury in Maryland returned an indictment charging four suspects with theft of mail matter and the unlawful possession of postal service keys, according to the Department of Justice.
Those charged:
- Eyalan Owona, 32, of Upper Marlboro;
- Ibrahim Kourouma, 22, of Glenarden;
- Ali Dickerson, 20, of Hyattsville;
- Benjamin Washington, 22, of Owings Mills.
According to the two-count indictment, on Wednesday, May 25, the four allegedly were in possession of United States Postal Service keys with the intent to use, sell, and dispose of the keys.
That same day, prosecutors said that the group allegedly stole mail matter from a United States Postal Service depository for mail located on Stanford Street in Bethesda, including the mail of a victim from Silver Spring.
The four arrests were part of a larger law enforcement investigation into a series of violent armed robberies of USPS letter carriers.
During those robberies, mailmen were targeted for proprietary keys that are used to open USPS mail collection boxes.
In total, at least 13 robberies have taken place in the region between May 23 and Thursday, July 7.
If convicted, the four face up to 10 years in federal prison for possessing the USPS keys and five years for the theft of mail. No return court date has been announced.
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