TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Darius Lee Allen, 26, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced yesterday to 24 months’ imprisonment for assaulting a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier with a firearm. Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence.
As part of his official duties, a USPS mail carrier was delivering mail in a residential neighborhood in Tallahassee on April 2, 2020. As he attempted to deliver to a mailbox, Allen demanded that the carrier hand him the mail instead. In accordance with USPS policy, because the mail carrier did not recognize Allen as a resident of that address, he refused Allen’s demand and placed the mail in the mailbox. About 20 minutes later, as the carrier continued delivering mail to other homes in the neighborhood, Allen approached the mail carrier’s vehicle on foot and discharged a firearm in the air. After doing so, Allen immediately retreated. The mail carrier also fled the scene in his vehicle and called 911 to report the incident. Officers from the Tallahassee Police Department responded and located the firearm Allen had discharged as well as the spent casing from the round that was fired. Allen was subsequently arrested.
“The Postal Service has been a cornerstone of our republic for some 245 years, and the American public has relied on it for secure delivery of items both important and routine,” United States Attorney Keefe said. “Individuals commit a crime when they try to disrupt a mail carrier’s solemn duty, and Allen’s assault on this federal officer also endangered others in the area.”
This sentencing resulted from the collaborative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Tallahassee Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lazaro P. Fields.
“Protecting the safety of our USPS employees is our most important mission, and Inspectors will continue the great work of bringing those who attack the USPS to justice,” said Antonio J. Gomez, Inspector in Charge of the USPIS, Miami Division.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
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