USPS mail carrier pinned and robbed in Palo Alto – NBC Bay Area

It happened again in the Bay Area, another USPS mail carrier was robbed of his mail keys.

The incident occurred just before noon on Thursday in Palo Alto.

Police said a 60-year-old mail carrier was delivering mail when two men demanded his mail keys in the parking lot of the Southwood apartment complex.

The postal worker handed over the keys. But then the suspects also wanted his wallet and phone when the victim refused. The suspects pushed the mailman to the ground and took off.

Yasemin, who lives at the apartment complex, spoke to NBC Bay Area on Friday and shared her reaction to the incident.

“It scares me. I’m a single mom too. So it’s really scary. And I’m from Germany, so it’s a different environment,” she said. “I felt really, really safe in Palo Alto, especially in This apartment complex. So it’s a very strange feeling, especially because it’s during the day, right?

It’s the second incident in Palo Alto in the last week.

On Saturday, Palo Alto police said they arrested two suspects for two robberies of mail carriers. One occurred in Belmont and the other at Ilima Court in Palo Alto, where one of the suspects pointed a gun at the mailman’s head while demanding his keys. One of the suspects is from Sacramento while the other suspect is a juvenile.

These are not the only incidents this month. In Oakland a few weeks ago, a video showed a mail carrier walking through a gate when he was approached, and the suspects then took the worker’s mail keys.

“The motivation for these crimes is to get the keys, to get something out of the mail, to commit a financial crime,” said U.S. Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet.

Norfleet is asking anyone who notices their credit card or check is missing from the mail to report it to postal inspectors.

He added that mail carriers will receive more security than before. He also asks the public to call the police if they see anything suspicious.

Norfleet also noted that there are numerous ongoing investigations into the crimes. A $150,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects.

“Almost no case is solved without the public’s help,” he said.