Two arrested for robbing postal workers at gunpoint
By Logan Smith
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DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — A man and woman were recently indicted and arrested for holding up mail carriers on the same day last year in Montbello.
Christopher Johnson, 35, and Brisa Sierra-Silva, 25, are accused of attempting to rob one mail carrier at gunpoint and successfully robbing another less than 10 blocks away on March 4, 2024.
The first incident happened near Bolling Drive and Duluth Court. The second occurred in the 4600 block of Eureka Court.
In the days following the robberies, the United States Postal Service offered a $150,000 reward for information about the crimes. It also released video from a neighbor’s doorbell camera showing two suspects running toward and entering a white Hyundai Sonata, the getaway car.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced the arrests May 23, two days after taking Johnson into custody and the same day Sierra-Silva was re-arrested. Sierra-Silva was initially handcuffed April 25 but missed a court-mandated meeting with a probation officer, thus violating the terms of her release.
Sierra-Silva is charged with robbery and attempted robbery. Johnson faces one count of attempted robbery. Both are scheduled for the same jury trial in federal court beginning July 21.
There was no information provided by the USPS about any injuries to either USPS worker, or if the advertised reward was paid out. Nor did the federal DA’s press release speak to the potential arrests of additional suspects; the doorbell camera video suggests more than two people were involved.
In a related matter, a Denver man was sentenced last week for breaking into a Colorado post office three years ago.
Zachary Jones, 36, of Denver, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison on Thursday.
Jones pleaded guilty to prying open a door at the Dacono Post Office on April 5, 2022. According to prosecutors, he stole a computer terminal, laptop, scanner, two printers, one postal service jacket, nine keys, two genuine postal service keys, seven employee personnel files, and one binder containing postal applications.
USPS investigators found and confronted Jones a month later. He was in possession of several of the stolen items, plus a handgun. As a previously convicted felon, Jones was not legally permitted to carry a firearm.
“Protecting the integrity of the U.S. mail and ensuring the safety and security of the U.S. Postal Service, its employees, and its customers is core to the mission of the United State Postal Inspection Service,” USPS Denver Division Acting Inspector in Charge Steve Hodges stated in a press release. “This sentencing serves as a reminder that postal inspectors work tirelessly day in and day out to bring to justice those who seek to do harm to the U.S. Postal Service.”
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