Two Men Indicted in Austin for Robbing U.S. Postal Carriers

AUSTIN, Texas – A federal grand jury in Austin returned an indictment charging two men with crimes related to the robberies of postal carriers.

According to court documents, Camren Hamilton, 22, of Saint Louis, Missouri, and Jonathan Rangel, 26, of Austin, allegedly robbed two postal carriers in Round Rock on Sept. 30. The affidavit in a filed complaint alleges that Rangel also assaulted multiple letter carriers with the intent to rob them in Georgetown and Austin in the days prior. The affidavit alleges that in each incident, the assailant demanded that the carriers give him their Arrow Key, which enables the carrier to access mail receptacles on their route.

Hamilton is charged with two counts of robbery of mail matter, money or other property of the United States and two counts of receipt, possession, concealment and disposal of stolen mail matter and property of the United States. Rangel is charged with four counts of robbery of mail matter, money or other property of the United States and two counts of receipt, possession, concealment and disposal of stolen mail matter and property of the United States.

The defendants made their initial court appearances on Oct. 2 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin M. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas; and Inspector in Charge Scott Fix of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Houston Division made the announcement.

The USPIS is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Guess is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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