Brothers acquitted in shooting of Louisville mail carrier, but drug charges another matter

UPDATE: Marcus Bennett was sentenced Feb. 18, 2022, to 14 years in prison for conspiring to distribute over 700 grams of heroin, federal prosecutors said. Eric Bennett was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison for his role in the heroin trafficking conspiracy as well as an additional five years for carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The original story from July 1, 2021, is below.

Two Louisville brothers who were initially charged then freed before getting charged again in connection with the 2016 assault of a United States Postal Service worker were largely acquitted by a jury Tuesday of shooting the letter carrier.

Eric Bennett, 43, had initially been charged with shooting mail carrier Da'Ron Lester while he was on his daily route about 10:30 a.m. Feb. 10, 2016, in the 800 block of Dearborn Avenue in the Chickasaw neighborhood.

Federal prosecutors alleged at the time that Eric Bennett shot Lester while a passenger in a car with his brother Marcus Bennett.

Prosecutors further alleged that illegal drugs were being delivered to Marcus Bennett, 44, who believed Lester had recently stolen one of those packages.

Lester was shot multiple times and survived. He was not charged in the dismissed criminal complaint.

Meanwhile, the charges against Eric and Marcus Bennett were dropped that same month against the brothers after video showed they were actually downtown in court for an unrelated case at the time of the shooting.

Video from Feb. 10, 2016, shows Marcus Bennett sitting in a Jefferson Circuit courtroom – for a jury trial in which he was the defendant – between 10:22 a.m. and just before noon, as well as for part of the afternoon.

A man appearing to be Eric Bennett also appeared in courtroom video starting around the timestamp of 11:24 a.m.

The two brothers were released from federal custody after their charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could charge either brother again on the same grounds.

And in 2017, they were charged again — this time with conspiracy to murder and attempted murder of a federal employee, forcible assault of a federal employee as well as conspiracy to distribute heroin and marijuana.

Eric Bennett was also charged in the superseding indictment with discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On Tuesday, a federal jury in U.S. District Court acquitted the Bennett brothers on the charges related to trying to murder and assault Lester.

The jury did find both brothers guilty of conspiracy to distribute between 100 grams and 1 kilogram of heroin.

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The jury also found Eric Bennett guilty of possessing a pistol as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Jurors found him not guilty of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The brothers faced up to life in prison on the charge of conspiring to murder a federal employee and faced up to 20 years for each count of attempted murder of a federal employee and forcible assault of a federal employee.

The heroin distribution convictions could result in 10 years to life in prison along with a fine and five years of supervised release, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

Eric Bennett's charge of possessing a handgun as a convicted felon could result in up to 10 years, and he may face at least 25 years for possessing a firearm in furtherance in a drug trafficking crime.

A sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 19.

Rob Eggert, the attorney for Eric Bennett, said "Eric always insisted on his innocence and we're grateful for the jury and their deliberations and considerations in this case."

Casey McCall, who represented Marcus Bennett along with attorney Scott C. Cox, said that "Marcus is very relieved he was acquitted of anything to do with what happened to the postal carrier."

A third defendant, Juliyah Young, of Louisville, was also charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin and marijuana. Federal prosecutors accused the three of distributing drugs between June 2015 and April 2017 in Jefferson County.

Young's attorney, Brian Butler, told The Courier Journal she was placed last year "in a Pretrial Diversion program based upon her lack of criminal history."

"Her charges are scheduled to be dismissed upon conclusion" of the diversion program, Butler wrote in an email.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the verdict.

But the office put out a news release Friday announcing the verdict and explaining how the Bennett brothers "each sold heroin to a confidential source between November 2016 and March 2017."

"Eric Bennett was arrested in February 2017 after taking evasive maneuvers to evade law enforcement surveillance, and tossing two parcels of heroin out the car window in a residential neighborhood," the news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky said. "Federal agents backtracked on foot over the route Bennett had taken and recovered the heroin in a driveway and the curtilage near a recycling bin.

"Eric Bennett was arrested at that time and found with a loaded Sig Sauer p250 pistol in the glove compartment of his car. Eric Bennett has a prior state court conviction for trafficking in a controlled substance (cocaine) and fleeing or evading police."

Friday's announcement noted the United States Postal Inspection Service had investigated the shooting.

This story has been updated.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville postal worker shooting case: Jury largely acquits brothers