Two men were arrested and charged on Thursday, Sept. 19 with robbing a mail carrier at gunpoint in Newark in November 2022, authorities said.
On Nov. 28, 2022, Eddie Tyree James White, a 26-year-old Delaware resident, approached a USPS mail carrier while she was in her USPS vehicle in Newark, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
White displayed a firearm in his waistband and demanded the mail carrier’s arrow key, a master key used by USPS to access various mail receptacles, Sellinger said. The mail carrier gave the key to White, who fled on foot, Sellinger said. James Hammond-Smith, a 26-year-old East Orange resident, drove White to the robbery, Sellinger said White subsequently used the postal key to access mail receptacles to steal mail, including checks and money orders, Sellinger said.
White and Hammond-Smith were both charged with one count of robbery of a mail carrier, while White also faces charges of theft of a postal key and theft of mail, Sellinger said. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, Sellinger said.