Boston man charged with armed robbery of postal worker

A Boston man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the armed robbery of a USPS letter carrier in Peabody.

Anthony Diaz, 20, was charged with forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, and interfering with a United States Postal Employee by use of a firearm, while they were engaged in the performance of their official duties. Diaz was also charged with assaulting a person having lawful charge of United States property, with the intent to rob, steal and purloin that property. 

On Jan. 4, Diaz allegedly approached the letter carrier with a semi-automatic pistol, demanding keys. After the victim obliged and gave Diaz the key to his vehicle, Diaz allegedly responded, “Give me the rest of the key,” and “Hurry up or I’ll shoot you.” The victim handed over his USPS Arrow Key, which opens certain collection boxes in a given area.

According to authorities, Diaz stopped at the rear of his vehicle, a dark grey sedan, with the trunk open, before getting into the driver’s seat and leaving the scene.

U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins reported at least 12 assaults on USPS letter carriers since July 2022 — 10 of which included attempted or successful robbery of an Arrow Key.

“The national trend of threatening, assaulting and robbing United States postal employees for Arrow Keys has sadly made its way to Massachusetts. Postal workers are essential to countless aspects of our community and often go to great lengths to provide their invaluable services, at times in incredibly challenging circumstances,” United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins wrote in a statement.

Diaz was arrested Feb. 17 and will appear in court again Feb. 27. He faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a hefty fine.

Local and state police joined the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in the investigation. Rollins’ office is prosecuting the case.