St. Louis Woman Pleads Guilty to Aiding in the Robbery of the Richmond Heights Post Office

St. Louis, MO –Arielle Steed, 27, of St. Louis, MO, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of aiding and abetting the robbery of a United States Postal employee.  Steed appeared in federal court today before United States District Judge Catherine D. Perry who accepted her plea and set her sentencing date for March 6, 2020.

According to court documents, in early December 2018, Steed and co-defendant Dywane Upchurch planned to rob the U.S. Post Office in Richmond Heights located on Big Bend Boulevard.  Steed was a teller at the post office and was in a relationship with Upchurch. 

On December 6, 2018, after the post office closed to the public, Steed retrieved all the cash from the registers, sorted it, and placed it in a stack on the counter.  At this time, there was only one other employee present at the post office.  Upchurch, dressed in all black and wearing a surgical mask, entered the rear door of the post office.  He was armed with a nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol.  Once inside, Upchurch brandished the firearm and forced Steed and the other employee into a restroom.  Upchurch then went to the counter and stole approximately $8,800 in cash.

Upchurch pled on October 4, 2019 to felon in possession of a firearm and assaulting a U.S. Postal employee while committing a robbery.  Sentencing is set for January 16, 2020.

Steed faces up to 25 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Richmond Heights Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ware is handling the case.