MILWAUKEE — Eight men have been arrested and charged since the Milwaukee Police Department and FBI began investigating USPS robberies back in October 2022.
The men are facing charges related to stealing mail from both carriers and USPS mailboxes. The suspects have been been identified as Abdi Abdi, 22; Darrion Allison, 22; Huria Abu, 20; Anterian Williams, 18; Amaurie Smith, 17; Jessie Cook, 19; Hussein Haji, 21; and Kaperion Gatson, 18.
According to a criminal complaint, the men would approach mail carriers and ask for their Arrow Key, which opens USPS mail collection boxes. The US Postal Inspector, Joel Thomas, confirmed several USPS mail collection boxes had been accessed using stolen Arrow Keys.
A criminal complaint mentions more than five instances of theft across the city. The first happened on Oct. 23 when a mail carrier was delivering mail and was approached by four suspects. The suspects allegedly demanded property. Prosecutors say one of the suspects, Cook, admitted to swinging at the mail carrier and said the carrier swung back.
During the struggle between Cook and the mail carrier, the carrier's Arrow Key was taken.
Another instance happened on March 20, when two men were seen opening a mailbox with an access key and taking mail.
Through their investigation, MPD and the FBI conducted interviews with the suspects. In one of the interviews, Haji admitted being a "gunman" in a Dec. 7th incident involving a mail carrier. He allegedly told police the goal of the theft was to steal mail so they could obtain personal checks and use them to withdraw money, fraudulently.
He identified two others involved.
The Milwaukee Police Department also conducted a search warrant at a Milwaukee home in connection to the thefts. Officers located Smith and Abu inside, and Haji outside. Officers searched the residence and found six firearms, cell phones, marijuana, cash, Arrow Keys, boxes of black checks, acetone, and "over 900 miscellaneous checks from 42 jurisdictions made out to hundreds of different people totaling over $550,000."
Allison and Abdi were arrested after an FBI analyst saw the two go to mailboxes at the post office and steal property. When the two were arrested, they reportedly had 400-500 pieces of mail and an Arrow Key.
During an interview with one of the suspects, Abu was identified as "the don" and the leader of the group. Several of the suspects admitted to stealing mail in an effort to obtain checks.
Now, six of the men have been charged in Milwaukee County. Two others had their charges dismissed in Milwaukee County because they were federally indicted.
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