XPost: milw.politics, misc.immigration.usa, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats   
   From: democrats@lie.usa   
      
   MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- On Monday, Aug. 12, two Milwaukee men were in court to   
   see how long they'll spend in prison for their roles in an armed robbery ring   
   that targeted United States Postal Service (USPS) workers.   
      
   The men tried to steal what are called "arrow keys" that would grant them   
   access to mail drop boxes.   
      
   Those robberies were among several incidents that spurred postal workers to   
   rally for better protection while on the job.   
      
   Christian Gustavo Lara-Maldonado turned 22 years old Monday. In court, he was   
   sentenced to seven years in prison for two felony armed robbery counts.   
      
   Lara-Maldonado is one of four men who committed the robberies on Nov. 6 of   
   2023.   
      
   At 10:22 a.m., three armed men approached a postal worker on their route near   
   12th and Holt.   
      
   According to the criminal complaint, they racked their guns and said, "give me   
   everything you got."   
      
   They took the mail carrier's phone, mailbag, package scanner, and the key to   
   their USPS vehicle. They then fled the scene.   
      
   Less than an hour later, near 48th and Euclid, three of them held another mail   
   carrier at gunpoint inside his USPS van.   
      
   One pointed a gun at the postal worker's head and said, "give up the arrow   
   key." They took a set of arrow keys from his carrier bag and fled the area.   
   They sold a stolen arrow key for $500 and split the money.   
      
   No cameras were allowed in court Monday, where the judge called the robberies   
   of public servants "pathetic," and "an incredible disappointment."   
      
   At the time, the case was one of several acts of violence against mail   
   carriers, including the shooting death of Aundre Cross during another robbery.   
      
   The Milwaukee branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers called for   
   more safety measures for its members, including getting rid of the arrow keys   
   to make them less attractive as a target for robbery.   
      
   In Washington, a bipartisan bill called the "Protect our Letter Carriers Act"   
   is in a Congressional House committee.   
      
   It would equate penalties for assaulting a postal employee with penalties for   
   assaulting a law enforcement officer.   
      
   It also would provide $7 billion over five years to replace arrow keys and   
   collection boxes with electronic versions that can be deactivated and   
   reprogrammed.   
      
   Nineteen-year-old Jesse Lee Hernandez also appeared in court Monday and was   
   sentenced to six years in prison for one felony count of armed robbery and a   
   felony count of fleeing an officer.   
      
   The other two robbery suspects were in court back in June.   
      
   Jose Federico-Flores was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading   
   guilty to his role in the robberies.   
      
   True Serwin also pleaded guilty to two counts of felony armed robbery and will   
   be sentenced later.   
      
   This Friday, Aug. 16, Christian Gustavo Lara-Maldonado will be sentenced for a   
   separate crime: he pleaded guilty to shooting a man in the head last June,   
   before the robberies.   
      
   https://www.cbs58.com/news/pathetic-milwaukee-man-sentenced-to-7   
   years-in-prison-for-his-role-in-armed-robberies-of-mail-carriers   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)