A Milwaukee teen has been sentenced to prison for robberies that targeted postal workers
A teen charged in a pair of armed robberies last year that targeted postal carriers in Milwaukee was given a four-year prison term.
Jose Federico-Flores, 17, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty in March to armed robbery as a party to a crime and vehicle operator flee/eluding an officer, both felonies.
Circuit Judge Danielle L. Shelton on Monday sentenced Federico-Flores to four years in prison on the robbery charge, and four years of extended supervision when he is released. She ordered him to also serve a one-year prison term for the fleeing count, along with one year of extended supervision.
The sentences are to run concurrently, online court records show.
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Shelton gave Federico-Flores 192 days of pre-trial credit that can be applied to his sentence.
Federico-Flores was one of four people who were arrested in a pair of armed robberies around the city in which postal workers were the intended victims.
Both robberies occurred on Nov. 6. They were arrested after a car chase with police.
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How prosecutors say crimes were carried out
South 12th Street and West Holt Avenue, 10:22 a.m.: A U.S. Postal Service worker delivering mail on foot was approached by three masked subjects. Each was armed with a handgun. "Give me everything you got," one of the suspects said to the postal employee, according to a criminal complaint. The employee handed over a cell phone, mailbag, a package-scanning device and keys to their vehicle. The robbers fled with the items without entering the carrier's van.
South 48th Street and West Euclid Avenue, around 11:15 a.m.: A postal worker was returning to their work van after delivering packages on foot when "three suspicious subjects" turned up at the intersection. The subjects held the postal employee at gunpoint, a criminal complaint said. They demanded the worker hand over their arrow key, which is used to unlock collection boxes in a particular zip code. The mail carrier surrendered the key and the suspects ran away.
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Officers spotted a black Honda Accord sedan about three hours later that was connected to an earlier armed robbery. Police tried to stop the vehicle, but it sped off and a chase ensued near South 26th Street and West Oklahoma Avenue.
The chase lasted nearly 20 minutes and ended when the suspects jumped out of the car. They ran, but eventually were caught by police, who took them into custody.
Investigators found semi-automatic handguns, a BB gun rifle and black face masks in the abandoned car.
What's next for the other suspects?
The case against Federico-Flores is the first to be adjudicated.
Two other alleged accomplices — Christian Gustavo Lara-Maldonaldo, 21, and Jesse Lee Hernandez, 18 — are scheduled to also take pleas on Wednesday.
The fourth person — True Serwin, 18 — is set to go to trial Aug. 5.
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423 USPS workers were robbed in 2022, USPS data show
Postal workers' safety took on new urgency in Milwaukee following the robberies and the Dec. 9, 2022 shooting death of U.S. Postal Service mail carrier Aundre Cross.
Two men, Kevin McCaa, 36, and Charles Ducksworth Jr., 26, were accused of shooting and killing Cross, 44, on the 5000 block of North 65th Street. A third person, Shanelle McCoy, 34, was also charged with providing false statements to law enforcement.
There were 423 postal workers robbed in 2022, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's annual report. More than 300 mail carriers were robbed from Oct. 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023), the most recent time frame for which data is available.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee teen gets prison in robberies of local USPS workers
