Brookline Man Indicted for Attempted Murder of a United States Postal Service Employee

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of violating federal violent crime laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

The two-count Indictment named Matthew Harrison , age 43, of the City’s Brookline neighborhood, as the sole defendant.

According to the Indictment, on or about May 28, 2022, Harrison attempted to murder and assaulted an employee of the United States – an on-duty letter carrier employed by the United States Postal Service - with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

The law provides for a sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan D. Lusty is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, Mt. Lebanon Police Department, Allegheny County Police Department, and the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office conducted the joint investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.