In the list of ideal vehicles to flee from the police, a USPS mail truck ranks very low. The Grumman LLV may be a legendary workhorse of the postal service, but it’s heavy, slow, and not exactly known for its handling prowess, either. And yet, that didn’t stop one bold individual from trying anyway.
As reported by Fox13, someone was sentenced to 30 months in prison for allegedly stealing a mail truck at knifepoint and leading police on a dangerous chase through Utah before being taken into custody.
As posted to TikTok, footage captured on the ground shows just how chaotic the chase became. We see the Grumman LLV fleeing from multiple police cruisers through an industrial area, before being boxed in at the end of the carpark. The LLV then rams police cruisers, and the sound of Tasers firing can be heard before the video cuts off.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Wilber Castellanos Hernandez, 33, an undocumented Mexican citizen, was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to carjacking a U.S. Postal Service Truck and threatening the U.S. Postal Service employee.
In addition to his term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow sentenced Hernandez to 36 months’ supervised release and ordered him to pay $2,828.89 in restitution for damage to the postal vehicle and missing postal equipment.
According to court documents and statements made at Hernandez’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, on February 5, 2024, Hernandez stole a U.S. Postal Service vehicle in Salt Lake City. He admitted to checking the door handle of the postal truck and entering the vehicle. When he was told to get out of the vehicle by the postal employee, he pointed a knife at him and fled from the area. Hernandez was tracked using GPS technology and stopped by law enforcement before he was subsequently taken into custody. See prior release here: Salt Lake City Man Accused of Carjacking a U.S. Postal Service Truck and Causing Multiple Car Accidents is Arrested and Charged.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and an FBI Task Force Officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Esqueda of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.
I want to thank the Salt Lake City Police for apprehending the suspect and assisting in the investigation. Also the FBI TFO for his assistance in the investigation and for the USPIS for investigating/presenting the case to the USAO.