SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Damian Deleal, 33, of Carmichael, was sentenced today to 10 years and one month in prison for armed robbery of a U.S. mail carrier and bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in March 2018, Deleal conspired with others, including Jacey Powell to rob a U.S. mail carrier of a postal service key that could open numerous residential cluster mailboxes in Sacramento County. Deleal conspired to obtain the key so he and his co-conspirators – including Jacey Powell, Brandon Moses, and Loren Patrick – could steal bankcards, checks, and other financial instruments from the mail.
On March 9, 2018, in South Sacramento, an unnamed co-conspirator robbed a mail carrier at gunpoint and forced the victim to hand over a postal service key. During the next few days, Deleal, Powell, Moses, and Patrick used the key to steal mailed bankcards and checks. They then attempted to use these items to purchase goods and obtain cash.
Powell and Deleal further conspired to claim reward money offered for information relating to the robbery and the stolen postal service key. In executing this plan, they planted the stolen key on Moses while he was sleeping in his car and called the U.S. Postal Service to report Moses’ location and inquire about the reward. After receiving this tip, investigators worked quickly to make arrests and learned that Deleal orchestrated the conspiracy and related crimes.
“Prosecuting robberies like this one is important to promote respect for the law and provide just punishment,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Mail carriers play an important part in the everyday workings of our country’s mail system, economy, and critical infrastructures. They should be able to do their jobs without the fear of being robbed or assaulted.”
“This sentence demonstrates clearly that Postal Inspectors do not tolerate violence directed at USPS employees and criminal exploitation of the U.S. Mail,” said Rafael Nuñez, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service San Francisco Division. “I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California for prosecuting this serious case, as well as our law enforcement partners for their crucial assistance.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Artuz prosecuted the case.
Moses, Patrick, and Powell pleaded guilty to federal charges and were sentenced in the following related cases in this district: U.S. v. Patrick, 2:18-cr-79 (two months in prison), U.S. v. Moses, 2:18-cr-90 (two years and 10 months in prison), and U.S. v. Powell, 2:18-cr-83 (two years in prison).