Three Charged With Robbery of Postal Service Letter Carrier
SALT LAKE CITY – Nathan Suaste, 19, of West Valley City, Exodus Matua, 18, and Lorenzo Saavedra, 18, both of Saratoga Springs, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Utah for the robbery of a United States Postal Service (“USPS”) letter carrier. All three defendants have been charged with robbery of property of the United States; using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and theft of a USPS arrow key.
Suaste, Matua, and Saavedra were arrested on October 19, 2022, by U.S. Postal Inspectors and a federal criminal complaint was later filed on October 19, 2022, which charged them with the robbery of a USPS letter carrier in Salt Lake City.
According to the allegations contained in the complaint and law enforcement affidavit, on or about August 19, 2022, Matua and Saavedra, both armed with handguns, approached a USPS letter carrier in the parking lot of a church in Salt Lake City. The two, while brandishing the handguns, demanded that the letter carrier hand over his arrow key, a universal key used by USPS employees who deliver and pick up mail from locked mail collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units, and apartment panels. While detaching the key, the letter carrier was punched in the face by at least one of the defendants. After taking the key, Matua and Saavedra ran to a Dodge Charger driven by Suaste and the three defendants left the area.
Assistant United States Attorney Mark Hirata from the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the ATF, the Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Salt Lake City Police Department, and the Utah County Major Crimes.
Allegations contained in charging documents are formal accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
