PALO ALTO – Two men robbed a United States Postal Service mail carrier of her postal keys and cell phone Wednesday afternoon in Palo Alto, police said.
The victim called police just before 2 p.m. to report she had been robbed roughly 10 minutes earlier in the 3400 block of Alma Street, the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release. Officers searched the area but did not find the suspects.
Police said the victim, a woman in her 50s, had been delivering mail when she was approached by two men, one of whom demanded her postal keys. When she refused to hand them over, the other man pushed her to the ground. The men then took her keys and phone.
The incident left the victim with a chipped tooth, facial swelling and pain in one wrist, police said. Paramedics with the Palo Alto Fire Department treated her at the scene.
The victim described the suspects as Latino men in their 30s. One stood about 5 feet 8 inches tall and the other about 5 feet 3 inches tall. They were last seen wearing face masks and all-black clothing. No weapons were displayed during the robbery.
Police said this is the first robbery of a mail carrier in recent memory in Palo Alto. Such cases, police noted, lead to mail theft, which in turn facilitates identity theft, fraud and other crimes.
Unauthorized possession of a postal key is a federal crime and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Anyone with information related to the case can contact the police department at 650-329-2413; those wishing to remain anonymous can call or text 650-383-8984 or email paloalto@tipnow.org.
In addition, anyone with information about the location of any stolen postal keys or robberies of mail carriers can contact the United States Postal Inspection Service’s 24-hour hotline at 877-876-2455. The federal agency offers a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any suspects.
Source: www.mercurynews.com