DENVER (KDVR) — A reward of up to $150,000 is being offered in the case of a postal worker who was robbed at gunpoint near the Central Park area of Denver.
The United States Postal Inspection Service said the employee was robbed on Halloween night by a person who brandished a gun near 2202 Valentia St. at 6:30 p.m.
An attempted robbery also occurred on Oct. 30 just before 6 p.m. near 653 S. Emerson Street In Denver. Investigators are looking into whether the two crimes are related.
Central Park resident Christopher Bennett said he feared the worst when he saw his mailbox had been broken into.
“What if I was receiving a passport?” he said.
FOX31 has reported several cases of mailbox theft across the metro area over the past year. Bennett and other residents say it’s time for the Postal Service to change the master key system to guard against break-ins.
“If the solution is to do a master key, then what’s going to stop people from doing it again,” said Bennett.
A USPIS spokesperson told FOX31 the joint USPS and USPIS Project Safe Delivery effort is designed to improve security measures nationwide by deterring criminal activity.
The program will place 12,000 high-security blue collection boxes nationwide. They are now being issued in high-security risk areas through the next fiscal year.
The program will replace older Arrow locks with 49,000 new electronic locks to address the increase in robberies where criminals target letter carriers for their Arrow and Modified Arrow Lock Keys to steal mail in the effort to commit identity theft.
The USPS and the USPIS will also conduct accountability reviews in select high postal crime areas.
The USPIS encourages residents to check for mail and collect it straight away to avoid theft. You can sign up to track your packages and mail on the USPS website.
Anyone with information about the robbery-related crimes should contact the USPIS Hotline at 720-800-8477.
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