3/23/2018 Federal Grand Jury Indicts Hutchins Man and Woman for Their Roles in the Murder of an U.S. Postal Service Employee
DALLAS — A federal grand jury in Dallas returned a three-count indictment this week charging Donnie Arlondo Ferrell, 25, and Bei-jing Tashawna Walker, aka “Channelle Walker,” 24, both of Hutchins, Texas, with felony offenses related to the February 19, 2018 murder of a United States Postal Service employee. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas.
Last month, Ferrell was charged in a related criminal complaint. The indictment charges Ferrell with one count of murder of an officer or employee of the United States and one count of using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Walker is charged with one count of accessory after the fact. Both defendants will remain in custody pending further court hearings.
According to the indictment filed in the case, on February 19, 2018, Ferrell shot and killed an United States Postal Employee while the employee was on duty. Walker assisted Ferrell after the shooting to prevent Ferrell from being apprehended.
A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation
The Dallas Police Department and United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl, John Kull and Brian Portugal are prosecuting.
Arrest in USPS driver’s killing reveals alleged motive as road rage over a hand gesture – A 25-year-old man is accused of killing a postal service truck driver in an apparent case of road rage on a Dallas highway this week, officials said Thursday.
When will people understand the risks letter carriers take every day to just do their jobs, as I did for 32+ years before retiring? Postal letter carriers have to go out into every neighborhood, business districts and deliver to every last customer, which means they can’t pick and choose whom they have to deal with at any given time or location, although I sure would have liked to practice some ability to avoid certain customers on my various routes.
What many people do not think about is the fact that carriers who are regulars on their routes soon know the relative characters of those they serve just by the way people act in their homes, or the kinds of mail that have to be delivered. I heard people screaming drunk, yelling at spouses, other family members, and worst of all kids. I dealt with lazy drug dealers who didn’t work legitimate jobs (obviously) and also ran a prostitution ring at a local bedbug motel on the side (they were eventually busted and received lengthy prison terms), delivered sex offender warnings in neighborhoods where a registered sex offender had moved in, saw more names and addresses of skank who were busted for drugs, gang activity, domestic violence and other terrible crimes.
Most would try to act “civil” when I came around, but it still was a relief to get off that miserable route at days end. We are superb at keeping peoples’ privacy intact, but there’s nobody quite like a policeman or a mailman who knows what’s behind those closed doors. Letter carriers do not interfere or get involved in police work, but we do witness criminal behavior sometimes, and have to act.
The penalties for harming or killing postal workers is a federal offense and carries tougher penalties, but that alone isn’t enough. I can’t advocate arming letter carriers – that would invite more trouble than it would prevent, in my view. I do believe however the USPS and the NALC and NRLCA should consider tougher regulations involving universal service when neighborhoods and housing projects are so violent or gang infested that anybody going in to those areas is at a much higher risk than other parts of towns and cities.
I firmly advocate high crime areas be denied universal service. Residents who live there are either criminals themselves or stuck there due to poverty or other reasons. Still, branch offices should be expanded to include mandatory box section rentals in these places. No life is worth losing when somebody is just trying to get stupid marriage mail delivered. Universal coverage is a privilege, but privileges can and should be revoked in the name of safety. Knee jerk reactions after the fact are worthless.