NORTHVILLE (WWJ) - An Amazon delivery driver and a second suspect were arrested and charged with multiple felony crimes connected to a slew of postal robberies in Metro Detroit over the last two months.
Michael Smith-Ellis, a 30-year-old Detroit resident, and Terrance Tucker, a 32-year-old Inkster resident, were apprehended by Northville police following their latest alleged incident where authorities claim the pair robbed a United States Postal worker at gunpoint on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
But soon authorities found the two men also matched the description of another similar crimes that included the theft of mail, money or federal property.
According to a federal complaint, the duo robbed a postal employee in Taylor on Sept. 25 at around 11:35 a.m. as the worker was delivering mail.
Taylor police said the victim was approached by two armed individuals in the Courtyards Apartment Complex as she was placing mail in a cluster of mailboxes.
The victim told police that one of the suspects was carrying a Glock-style weapon and told the USPS employee, "Don't Scream, B---."
The USPS employee gave the suspect her keys, including an arrow key that can access postal mailboxes, and the two men took off from the scene in a black pick-up truck, the federal complaint stated.
The victim described the suspects as standing 5'6'' tall and were African American with a thinner build. They both appeared younger in age and were wearing all black with black masks.
Taylor police noted the robbery was similar to another incident back on Sept. 1 in the same area, during which another mail carrier was robbed of an arrow key.
As Downriver police were working on their case, another postal theft unfolded in broad daylight on Tuesday, Oct. 24 in Northville.
The victim told Northville PD that she was filling mailboxes off Northville Place Drive around 12:45 p.m. when she was approached by two black males armed with guns and dressed in all black with their faces covered by masks.
As in the Downriver cases, the suspects demanded the USPS' employee's arrow key. In the federal complaint, the victim stated one of the men pointed a black handgun at her stomach while the other said, "where's the key, give me the key, if not I will hurt you."
The victim complied and the two suspects fled in a gray, newer model, mid-sized Hyundai.
Northville police issued a "Be On the Look Out" (BOLO) bulletin that caught the attention of Livonia police and two postal inspectors working on a different case.
Within ten minutes of BOLO being issued, the Livonia officer and two inspectors spotted a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle from the Northville robbery speeding along I-96.
A traffic stop was initiated on the freeway near Middlebelt and the two occupants, identified as Smith-Elis and Tucker, were detained.
"The officers observed, in plain view through the windows of the vehicle: a black handgun and what appeared to be a black face covering in the front seats' cup holder; a Draco style firearm on the floor behind the passenger seat; and black clothing in the rear seat," Northville police said in a statement.
After obtaining a search warrant, police identified the weapons as a black Glock 19 9mm handgun and one Arsenal Model SEM 7K 7.62mm firearm, which fits the description of a Draco-styled firearm noted by Livonia police.
They also discovered: two sets of gloves, two black zip up jackets, two black balaclava masks, and two black jogger sweatpants; a USPS key ring with one USPS Arrow Key; several credit cards in the names of people other than the two suspects; and an unopened DTE envelope addressed to an individual that was not Smith-Ellis or Tucker.
The plot twist: federal officials learned through their investigation that Smith-Ellis worked as an Amazon flex driver who allegedly robbed mailboxes in the late night/early morning hours while delivering for the online retailer.
Smith-Ellis and Tucker were turned over to the United States Postal Inspectors Office and then arraigned in Federal Court on the following Felony charges:
• Conspiracy–5 year
• Robbery or Theft of Mail, Money or Property of the U.S.–25 year
• Aggravated Assault of a Federal Employee–20 year
• Use of a Firearm during and in relation to a Crime of Violence–5 year
• Ley or Locks stolen or reproduced–10 year
