Man Indicted for Armed Robbery of Mail Carrier in Rancho Cordova

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Juan Carlos Maldonado, 21, of Sacramento, was indicted today for the armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Rancho Cordova, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on June 21, 2016, Maldonado and others obtained a sport utility vehicle, removed its plates, stalked a U.S. letter carrier, and then robbed the carrier at gunpoint in a Rancho Cordova neighborhood. During the robbery, Maldonado and his associates raided the postal truck, stealing property of the United States and over 800 items of U.S. Mail. Following the robbery, they rifled through the stolen mail for personal identification and financial information, which Maldonado used and provided to others for use, to defraud financial institutions. Maldonado is charged with one count of robbery of a U.S. mail carrier, four counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of possessing robbery proceeds.

On June 30, 2016, Maldonado was arrested by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office at the Red Hawk Casino while attempting to access proceeds from credit cards stolen during the June 21, 2016 robbery.

San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez stated: “Working with the U.S. Attorney's Office and our partners in law enforcement, Postal Inspectors arrested this individual for the armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service Letter Carrier. Protecting postal employees from harm is the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's top priority.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotic and Economic Crimes Investigations Task Force (NECI) with assistance from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, and the Rancho Cordova Police Department. NECI is a partnership between local and federal law enforcement to combat theft and unlawful use of the U.S. Mail. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office and Sutter County Sheriff’s Office have each dedicated law enforcement personnel to the task force. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Maldonado faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the bank fraud, a mandatory two years in prison consecutive to any other term for the aggravated identity theft, and up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for robbery of a U.S. mail carrier and possession of robbery proceeds. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.