SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 1, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Two men were sentenced to federal prison Thursday for robbing and assaulting a Salt Lake City mailman.
“Nathan Suaste, 20, of West Valley City, and Lorenzo Saavedra, 20 of Saratoga Springs, were each sentenced today after they pleaded guilty to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence,” according to a Thursday press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah.
Suaste was sentenced to 60 months, while Saavedra was sentenced to 84 months. A third defendant, Exodus Matua, is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
According to court documents and admissions made during their change of plea hearing, in August 2022, Suaste, Saavedra and Matua targeted a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in Salt Lake City with the intent to threaten him and steal his arrow key.
An arrow key is used by USPS employees who deliver and pick up mail from mail receptacles.
Suaste was the driving force behind the robbery and recruited Saavedra and Matua to participate, court documents say.
“Saavedra, armed with a firearm provided by Suaste, confronted and pulled the mail carrier out of his mail truck. While detaching his arrow key, Matua, who was also armed with a firearm, punched the mail carrier in the face and pointed his firearm at the mail carrier.”
Suaste, Saavedra and Matua planned to use the stolen arrow key to open mail receptacles, steal mail belonging to third parties, and use the contents of the stolen mail — including checks and other financial instruments — to obtain money under false and fraudulent pretenses, prosecutors said.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Saratoga Springs Police Department, Salt Lake City Police Department and Utah County Major Crimes Task Force.
“Mail carriers should never be worried about being held at gunpoint,” said U.S. Attorney for Utah Trina A. Higgins.
“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute people who harm public servants. We will use every resource available to protect the United States mail system, its critical workforce, and the community.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service takes any acts of violence against our employees very seriously,” said Dominique Giroux, acting inspector in charge of the USPIS Phoenix Division. “U.S. Postal Inspectors relentlessly investigated this robbery until all responsible parties were identified and brought to justice. Attacks against our dedicated public servants will not be tolerated.”
