PROVIDENCE , RI – A Providence man on Tuesday admitted to a federal judge that he assaulted a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier purportedly because of a near collision between the man’s car with a mail delivery truck as they passed on a tightly packed Providence street, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Branley Ferreras-Severino, 22, admitted that he repeatedly punched the letter carrier when the worker returned to his truck after having delivered packages to a nearby house. Ferreras-Severino admitted that he was standing by the mail truck and said, “You think it’s funny? You almost hit me. You wanna get popped?” The carrier took that to mean being shot with a gun.
Ferreras- Severino admitted that a passenger in his car, Ismael Colon-Pena, 19, of Providence, joined him in assaulting the Postal employee. The mail carrier attempted to fend off the attack and then ran from the area while dialing 911 for help. He provided investigators with the license plate number of the car driven by Ferreras-Severino, which they learned was registered to Ferreras-Severino’s mother.
As part of the investigation, U.S. Postal Service Inspectors obtained security videos from a nearby residence that depicted the attack. The Postal carrier identified both defendants from photographs shown to him by investigators.
Ferreras-Severino pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of assault of a federal employee. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 22, 2023. Colon-Pena pleaded guilty to the same charge on February 14, 2023. At sentencing on May 18, 2023, he was entered into the Deferred Sentencing Program for a term of 12 months.
As a result of their convictions, both men, Dominican Republic nationals, face deportation proceedings.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zechariah Chafee.