RI men accused of kidnapping mail carrier because they thought he stole cocaine
Four Rhode Island men are accused of kidnapping a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier at gunpoint because they suspected him of stealing a package of cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Rhode Island.
The four men, along with one other man, were also indicted in connection with "a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy involving numerous packages containing kilogram quantities of cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico," Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus announced in a press release.
The indictment, unsealed Thursday, charges Edgar Medina, 36, of Johnston; Alijah Parsons, 29, Irving Medina, 31, Andres Garay, 35, and Ronald Hall, 39, all of Providence, with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more, of cocaine, Myrus said.
Edgar Medina, Alijah Parsons, Irving Medina, and Andres Garay were also charged with with aiding and abetting kidnapping, Myrus said.
Three of the men had previously been charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, but nobody had been charged in the alleged kidnapping.
The indictment alleges that on June 1, the postal carrier was delivering mail in Pawtucket when the men kidnapped him at gunpoint and drove him at gunpoint in a Chrysler 300 to his home, the indictment alleges.
In the car, they interrogated the postal carrier about missing cocaine that had been sent to Rhode Island from Puerto Rico, according to the indictment.
The letter carrier was returned unharmed to an area near his postal truck "after it became obvious he knew nothing about the missing cocaine, and after the men learned that the letter carrier did not have a key with him to allow them to enter his locked home to search for cocaine," the U.S. attorney said.
While investigating the alleged kidnapping, postal inspectors discovered that several packages had been previously shipped from fictitious people and addresses in Puerto Rico to addresses in Pawtucket, Cranston, Johnston, and Providence, Myrus said.
Agents intercepted three packages and found more than three kilograms of cocaine inside after a Rhode Island State Police K-9 alerted for the presence of drugs, the U.S. attorney said.
With investigators watching, postal inspectors arranged for controlled deliveries of the packages a week after the kidnapping, June 8, leading to the arrests of Edgar Medina, Andres Garay, and Ronald Hall, according to Myrus.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Men face drug, kidnapping charges after mail carrier taken at gunpoint
