Texas man faces 90 months in prison after being convicted of robbery of US property

Keymonte Avery
·1 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Texas man was sentenced to 90 months after being accused of robbery.

In a release from the United States Department of Justice, Tarek Sonnier, 26, of Fresno, was sentenced after being convicted of robbery of United States property.

On Oct. 6, 2021, a USPS mail carrier was delivering mail when they saw Sonnier hiding behind a tree near the USPS vehicle with a letter in hand. The carrier asked if Sonnier had to mail something. As Sonnier got closer to the carrier, he sprayed the carrier with pepper spray and snatched the USPS keys. The keys included a set of USPS Promaster truck keys and a USPS Arrow key. The release states Sonnier and an accomplice fled the scene in a silver Camaro.

According to the DOJ, a surveillance camera across the street saw the robbery and was able to catch the silver Camaro with damage to the rear passenger side driving past before spotting Sonnier walking down the sidewalk and waiting by the tree.

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United States Attorney Ronald Gathe Jr. said on Oct. 7, 2021, officers with the Baton Rouge Police Department conducted a traffic stop that matched the description as the one connected to the robbery. The driver was identified as Sonnier. On Oct. 8, BRPD performed a search warrant on the silver Camaro and found USPS truck keys, stolen U.S. mail, checks, money orders, and bottles of “Wite-Out” and “Heet.” Wite-Out and Heet are associated with altering checks, according to the release.

Along with the 90-month sentence, Sonnier was ordered to serve three years of supervised release.

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