Fort Worth postal carrier robbed; $150,000 reward for info

Fort Worth postal carrier robbed; $150,000 reward

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a $150,000 reward for more information about the robbery of a Fort Worth postal carrier at an apartment complex.

FORT WORTH, Texas - The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a $150,000 reward for more information about the robbery of a Fort Worth postal carrier at an apartment complex.

The robbery happened shortly before 5 p.m. on March 15, at the Slate at Fort Worth Apartments on Wellesley Avenue.

Investigators say the suspect was wearing a black hoodie with an off-white logo on the front and flip-flops at the time of the robbery.

No details were given about what may have been taken in the robbery.

It is the latest of several robberies of postal workers in North Texas.

Federal authorities say they are aggressively going after anyone who targets a letter carrier right now.

They say that aggressive strategy is working, but there’s work left to do.

"We take it very seriously," U.S. Postal Inspector Sean Smith said. "In the past, it used to be up to $50,000 for any information leading to an arrest or conviction, but we’ve tripled that amount. That’s how serious we take these crimes."

Nationwide, letter carrier robberies have been on the rise in recent months.

Many of the thefts are targeting carriers for their keys used to access mail and commit financial crimes.

Postal workers hold rally after recent robberies

The brazen encounters are happening in broad daylight in neighborhoods that some letter carriers have been servicing for years. One Dallas carrier said he had a gun pointed in his face while delivering mail to a busy apartment complex.

On Feb. 22, the National Association of Letter Carriers held a "Protect Our Letter Carriers Rally" outside a Dallas post office.

The group is demanding better protections and stiffer penalties for those who target letter carriers.

"It has been very disturbing. I've had several letter carriers that have been involved in these attacks that have not returned to work," said Kim Lewis, the president of Lonestar Branch 132, which represents some 2,900 letter carriers across North Texas.

Postal officials launched an initiative in May 2023 to step up safety efforts, including replacing manual locks with electronic ones.

The USPS says arrests tied to letter carrier robberies are up more than 70% compared to the same period last fiscal year, and robberies are down 19% in the last five months.

"We leave no stone unturned when we are looking at these investigations because we believe in a carrier being able to do their job, out in the street, going into neighborhoods," Smith said.

The Fort Worth robbery is at least the fifth of a postal worker this year.

The $150,000 reward is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-877-876-2455.