Source: United States Department of Justice News
Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Daniel B. Brubaker, Inspector-in-Charge, New York Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Northeast Area Field Office of the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (“USPS-OIG”), Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the arrest of ELHORIN YISREAL on Hobbs Act robbery and firearm charges in connection with the gunpoint robbery of a post office in the Bronx, New York, on September 6, 2022. YISREAL was arrested yesterday and will be presented today before the Honorable James L. Cott.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Elhorin Yisreal brazenly robbed a Bronx post office in broad daylight, endangering the lives of a post office employee and her husband in the process. Yisreal’s alleged actions show his disregard for the rule of law, and I commend our law enforcement partners for working with this Office to swiftly identify and apprehend Yisreal.”
USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Daniel B. Brubaker said: “This has been a true team effort between multiple federal, state, and local agencies. We hope this arrest sends a crystal-clear message to any and all criminal elements: if you target a U.S. Post Office and accost our employees with a gun, you will go to jail. Period. We will tirelessly pursue you and bring you to justice.”
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “This was not a random robbery. We allege Yisreal sat waiting for the victims to arrive, forced his way in using a gun, and then stole a significant sum of money. He also stole a device used to print money orders. Whatever Yisreal’s intent for that device may have been, he will get no use out of it in federal prison. I want to commend our law enforcement partners at the United States Postal Inspection Service, and other agencies, who all worked diligently to solve this case so quickly.”
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “Today’s charges affirm the NYPD’s unwavering commitment to work in close collaboration with all of our law enforcement partners to identify and arrest anyone who commits a violent crime in New York City – especially a brazen gunpoint robbery of two people inside a post office. I commend and thank everyone at the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and all of the investigators at the NYPD, the FBI’s New York Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General for their work on this important case.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:[1]
On September 6, 2022, YISREAL committed a gunpoint robbery of a post office in the Bronx, New York. On the morning of September 6, YISREAL was waiting outside the post office in a parked vehicle when a post office employee and her husband arrived. After the post office employee and her husband unlocked the front entrance to the post office, YISREAL emerged from the vehicle wearing a black mask and carrying a firearm. YISREAL ordered the post office employee and her husband inside the post office at gunpoint. He then ordered the post office employee to open a safe and give him two remittance bags containing approximately $100,000 in United States currency, as well as blank money orders, and a machine used to print money orders. Following the robbery, YISREAL fled in the vehicle parked outside.
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YISREAL, 44, is charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of brandishing a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the USPIS, USPS-OIG, the FBI, and the NYPD.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Alexandra S. Messiter is in charge of the prosecution.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.