A man and woman were indicted Thursday for the armed robberies of United States Postal Service workers at knifepoint in Boston to get the master keys to USPS mailboxes, federal officials say.
Myesah Lewis, a 21-year-old from Dorchester, and Kenneth Demosthene, a 22-year-old from Stoughton, are accused of working together to target postal workers on duty in two incidents, from late November in Mattapan and mid-December in Hyde Park, according to the criminal complaint against them filed in court by a U.S. postal inspector.
Mail carriers are increasingly being targeted for the master keys they hold, also known as arrow keys, which allow the holder to get into blue mail collection boxes. That opens access to checks that have been mailed, which thieves can use to steal money.
In the Boston area, there have been at least 13 assaults on USPS workers since July 2022.
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Demosthene is accused of demanding the key from a postal worker in each case — in one, he allegedly pulled out a knife — while Lewis waited in a getaway rental Zipcar.
They are facing up to 25 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
They are scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
