Opelousas Man Sentenced For Robbing And Assaulting Mail Carrier

LAFAYETTE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Brandon B. Handy, 33, of Opelousas, La., was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to 24 years in prison and five years of supervised release for assaulting and robbing a U.S. Postal Service contract carrier.

During a two-day trail in December of 2013, witness testimony and documents admitted into evidence established that Handy and another individual wearing masks and armed with a pistol robbed a U.S. Postal Service contract driver on August 13, 2011, at the Lawtell Post Office.  Handy approached the driver from behind, grabbed him by the neck, and wrestled him to his knees while the other individual took a bag of mail from the employee’s truck.  After Handy and the other individual fled the scene, the driver was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated for injuries.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett L. Grayson prosecuted the case.