RICHMOND, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced to a year and 10 months in prison for mail theft and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on Jan. 22, 2023, Jose Arnulfo Reyes, 27, of Oxon Hill, and another individual drove Reyes’ girlfriend’s car to the Fairfax Station Post Office, where they robbed a blue U.S. Postal Box. Law enforcement witnessed the theft and attempted to stop the vehicle, but Reyes fled at a high rate of speed before eventually crashing into a chain link fence. Reyes and his co-conspirator fled on foot.

Law enforcement recovered numerous items from the car, including a loaded handgun and U.S. Postal Service arrow key, a master key used to access a variety of mail repositories, including blue collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, and apartment mailbox panels in a given area. They also recovered more than thirty pieces of stolen U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, five stolen soft mail packages, and an iPhone belonging to Reyes and connected to his iCloud account that was using a GPS application to provide directions to the Fairfax Station Postal Office.

As a previously convicted felon, Reyes cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cole Enmon prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.