A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court ruling that suppressed statements made by a defendant accused of threatening United States postal workers.
Defendant Quadri Garnes was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York with threatening to assault and murder employees of the United States Postal Service.
The charges stem from statements he made during a phone call to the New York State Department of Labor.
Garnes worked as a mail carrier for the Postal Service from about March 2022 to late May 2022. After he was fired from that job, Garnes applied for unemployment benefits.
His claim was denied because he had not worked for the Postal Service long enough to be eligible for the benefits.
On Sept. 29, 2022, Garnes called the state Labor Department to inquire about his eligibility for unemployment benefits based on his brief employment with the Postal Service.
During the 45-miute call, after being told that he was ineligible for benefits, Garnes allegedly made threats to harm postal officials and others.
The alleged threats included five statements that referred to his criminal record. Garnes even acknowledged during the call that he knew the conversation was being recorded.