What should have been a routine mail stop in San Jose ended in a violent brawl inside a United States Postal Service truck, and the man accused of the beating has now admitted to federal charges. Prosecutors say the San Jose resident climbed into a USPS vehicle and attacked a letter carrier, leaving the worker badly injured and putting the defendant on the hook for up to 25 years in prison and steep fines when he is sentenced.
According to KRON4, 49-year-old Robert Cordova pleaded guilty to one count of robbery of a U.S. mail carrier and one count of assaulting a federal employee. The outlet reports that Cordova entered his plea in federal court and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2. Local coverage notes that the agreement effectively resolves the federal case stemming from a violent encounter in November 2024.
How prosecutors say the attack unfolded
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California lays out a grim timeline. On Nov. 22, 2024, a letter carrier was sorting parcels at the rear of his USPS truck near Taylor Street and 13th Street in San Jose. Prosecutors say Cordova climbed into the truck, struck the carrier, forced him to the ground, repeatedly punched his face and head and even tried to gouge the carrier’s eyes.
The letter carrier was taken to a hospital, where doctors diagnosed a broken nose and a fractured left orbital socket, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Officials say Cordova was later found hiding in a nearby backyard. The office notes that Assistant U.S. Attorney Neal C. Hong is prosecuting the case and that the indictment and criminal complaint spell out the federal counts tied to the assault and the resulting injuries.
Postal workers targeted across the Bay Area
The San Jose attack is part of a larger and unsettling pattern. In recent years, postal thefts and assaults across the Bay Area have drawn concern from both local outlets and federal investigators. Coverage by ABC7 has documented thieves targeting postal keys, armed robberies of carriers and federal reward offers as authorities try to tamp down an uptick in crimes that put both deliveries and workers at risk…