BETHESDA, Md. — Editor's Note: This video is from July 2022 about six mail carriers robbed in D.C. and Maryland in less than 24 hours.
Four people from Maryland are facing federal charges for mail theft and possession of United States Postal Service keys, according to the Department of Justice.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging 21-year-old Eyalan Owona, 22-year-old Ibrahim Kourouma, 20-year-old Ali Dickerson, and 22-year-old Benjamin Washington on July 21. The indictment was unsealed Friday upon their arrests.
Officials say Kourouma remains a fugitive.
According to the two-count indictment, on May 25 the accused allegedly possessed USPS keys with the intent to use, sell, and dispose of them. The same day, they reportedly stole mail from a mail collection box located on Stanford Street in Bethesda, Maryland.
A person from Silver Spring was a victim in this mail theft incident.
The four people facing the charges are part of a larger law enforcement investigation into a series of violent armed robberies of USPS letter carriers.
At least 13 of these robberies have happened in the metro area of Washington D.C. this year between May 23 and July 7.
If convicted of the charges, they will face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the possession of USPS keys and five years in federal prison for the theft of mail matter.
If you have any information regarding a United States Postal Service letter carrier robbery or would like to report mail theft or other crimes committed through or towards the United States Postal Service, please contact the United States Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or https://www.uspis.gov/report.