Thieves Attempt Post Office Truck Robbery, Leave Empty-Handed

Sometime between 7 p.m. on Tuesday and 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, the Frederiksted Post Office grounds were violated when thieves cut through the property’s fence and ransacked a two-ton truck with the intent of stealing a battery, according to Frederiksted Postal Service Post Master Angel Tirado.

Vandalized Postal Service truck at the F’sted Post Office.

Tirado said the thieves came through the Post Office’s rear parking lot, on the side of the gate facing the Ludvig E. Harrigan Court Housing Community. They tried but did not succeed in stealing the truck’s $300 battery, because, according to Tirado, the battery is located elsewhere in the truck and not in the hood.

According to Tirado, the incident was discovered at 6:45 a.m., and police were subsequently contacted at 6:54 a.m.; however, as of 8:45 a.m., police still had not responded to the scene.

Postal Service inspectors are currently investigating the case. People with any information on this crime are asked to contact police by calling 911, or Crime Stoppers VI at 1-800-222-TIPS.

According to 18 U.S. Code § 1707 — Theft of property used by Postal Service, “whoever steals, purloins, or embezzles any property used by the Postal Service, or appropriates any such property to his or any other than its proper use, or conveys away any such property to the hindrance or detriment of the public service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; but if the value of such property does not exceed $1,000, he shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”