A Berkeley mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service has been charged with entering a South Berkeley man’s home without permission in January, according to court papers obtained by Berkeleyside.
The mail carrier, LaMonte Earnest, and his wife Kate Hallinan, who is a defense attorney, have said Earnest was “just doing his job” and is guilty only of “delivering while black.”
Earnest has been charged by the Alameda County district attorney’s office with a misdemeanor and is set to enter a plea in the case next week. He is also set to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on Tuesday, according to court records online, to be arraigned for a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty after pepper-spraying a dog through a mail slot in 2015.
According to Berkeley police, on Jan. 26, Earnest threatened and cursed at a man who asked him not to throw his packages, then chased him down Sacramento Street, “kicked his door open and started to take photos” of the man, telling him: “I know who you are mother fucker. You better hide and never come out.”
After Berkeleyside reported on the allegations against Earnest, as well as Earnest’s own contention that he is facing false accusations, numerous Berkeley residents emailed Berkeleyside to share details about their own unpleasant interactions with Earnest. Those reports have continued to come into Berkeleyside, as recently as Thursday.