Winchester Man Charged with Assaulting Federal Postal Worker and Cocaine Possession

BOSTON – A Winchester man was arrested yesterday and charged with assaulting a federal postal worker and cocaine possession.

Raymond Acevedo, 29, was charged with one count of assaulting a federal postal worker and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Acevedo was detained following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston pending a probable cause and detention hearing set for Nov. 7, 2019.

According to charging documents, on Oct. 24, 2019, a U.S. Postal worker attempted to deliver an Express Mail package from Puerto Rico to the addressee in Dorchester. The postal worker was unable to locate the addressee and was returning to his vehicle when another individual, later determined to be Acevedo, approached the postal worker and demanded the package. When the postal worker would not give Acevedo the package, Acevedo assaulted the postal worker, took the package, and a fight ensued. As the postal worker and Acevedo were fighting over the package, police arrived and eventually arrested Acevedo, charging him with robbery and aggravated assault on the postal worker. The postal worker was transferred to a local hospital for the injuries he received during the altercation.

On Oct. 25, 2019, law enforcement officers opened the package pursuant to a federal search warrant and seized approximately 1.390 kilograms of cocaine.

The charge of assaulting a federal postal worker provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release. The charge of distribution of cocaine provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, four years to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.