The US postal service is welcoming the five year prison term given to a man who held up a Fort Worth mail carrier at gunpoint.
Prosecutors say 22-year-old Abdirashid Omar was charged via criminal complaint in May 2022. He pleaded guilty the following month to robbery of property of the United States and was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 71 months in federal prison.
The letter carrier had only been on the job a month when Omar jammed a gun in her gut and took her mail. Postal inspector Paul Ecker says they developed a lead and began following Omar.
Law enforcement later stopped and searched Mr. Omar’s vehicle and residence and located stolen U.S. Mail, stolen checks, and a setup in which checks were being “washed” – placed into a liquid substance to have the ink removed.
In court, Omar later admitted to robbing the carrier to obtain USPS property and to stealing U.S. Mail.
Postal inspector Paul Ecker says the 5-year sentence is appropriate, particularly at this time of year when the post office is gearing-up for the holiday rush. He says the message is clear, leave the letter carriers and their cargo alone.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Fort Worth Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas prosecuted the case.
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