Two St. Lucie men convicted in a series of armed robberies of USPS carriers

MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — Two St. Lucie County men were sentenced to federal prison Monday after pleading guilty to a series of robberies of U.S. Postal Service mail carriers over their mail keys.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Southern District of Florida, Bernard Jerome Davis III and Jalen Dennis Elliot robbed at least six USPS letter carriers in St. Lucie, Brevard, Orange and Miami-Dade counties in Florida.

Davis III, 20, of Port St. Lucie was sentenced to 16 years in prison after three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, armed robbery of the mail/U.S. property , brandishing a firearm and attempted Hobbs Act robbery. and Hobbs Act robbery.

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Elliot, 19, of Fort Pierce, was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery and a Hobbs Act robbery.

A third accomplice, identified as Jamal Travon Brown Weathers, of Fort Pierce, will be sentenced to prison on October 24.

The robberies

On November 19, 2022, a USPS mail carrier delivered mail to an apartment complex in Port St. Lucie. As the courier stood at the mailboxes, Brown Weathers brandished a gun and demanded that the mailman give him the keys. The letter carrier unlocked her key and gave it to Brown Weathers, who fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Davis III.

On May 12, 2023, Brown Weathers and Davis robbed two USPS letter carriers in the Middle District of Florida. The DOJ says at 12:13 p.m., a letter carrier was delivering mail in Melbourne when Davis III approached them with a black firearm and demanded the mail arrow key. After the keys were handed over, Davis III fled the scene in a Nissan Altima. At 1:20 p.m., Brown Weathers robbed a letter carrier of the key at gunpoint. The DOJ says Brown Weathers fled the scene in a Nissan Altima driven by Davis.

Another robbery occurred on August 1, 2023. A USPS mail carrier was delivering mail in Fort Pierce when a white Pontiac Grand Prix began following her and stopped behind her USPS vehicle. The letter carrier saw Davis III carrying a black semi-automatic handgun and walking toward the mail carrier’s vehicle, court records show. Fearing that she would be robbed, the employee quickly drove away and called 911. The same white vehicle followed another postman, who also called 911.

The DOJ says two robberies occurred in October. On October 11, 2023, a USPS mail carrier was delivering mail in Fort Pierce when Davis III approached the driver’s side of the USPS vehicle, brandishing a handgun and demanding that the USPS employee give him the keys. After the mailman handed the Postal arrow key to Davis, he fled in a white vehicle.

Then, on October 21, 2023, a postal worker was delivering mail to an apartment carrier in Miami Beach when she was confronted by Davis III who shouted, “give me the keys.” Davis III snatched the keys from the letter carrier’s hand, injuring him. He then fled the scene in a black BMW SUV driven by Elliot.

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