A Memphis woman is facing over nine years in federal prison for her role in the 2016 armed robbery of a U.S. Postal letter carrier.
U.S. Attorney for West Tennessee Michael Dunavant announced Tuesday that 39-year-old Wendy Thomas was sentenced January 16th in Memphis federal court to 114 months imprisonment for robbery of mail, money or other property of the United States and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to information presented in court, on November 21, 2016, at approximately 12:50 p.m., U.S. Postal Inspectors responded to the robbery of a U.S. Postal Service Letter Carrier in the area of 890 Baltic Street. The gunman approached the letter carrier and pointed a semi-automatic handgun as she was placing her mail satchel in her postal truck.
The suspect asked for cash or checks that were in the vehicle. He then went through the mail and took several envelopes and packages. As the suspect was leaving, he threatened the letter carrier and told her “to stay back, don’t move until I leave or I am going to blow your damn head off.” The gunman fled in a blue 2005 Toyota Matrix. Investigators later determined that Wendy Thomas was the getaway driver and that Jamal Cherry was the gunman.
The robbery was captured by a nearby home surveillance video camera.
On September 15, 2017, Cherry pled guilty to the armed robberies of two U.S. Postal Service letter carriers and received a sentence of 13 years in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, “This office takes very seriously our duty to
protect the safety of United States Postal Service employees and the sanctity and security of the U.S. Mail. Armed robberies of Postal carriers are brazen and disturbing acts of violence that attack our government institutions and terrorize our community, and must be met with significant consequences. These dangerous offenders have sown violence and greed, and as a result of these sentences, they will now reap the full measure of consequences for their criminal conduct.”
The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marques Young prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
