Woman helped rob mail carriers of universal keys in MA, feds say. She’s prison-bound
A woman is headed to prison in connection with the robberies of two U.S. Postal Service letter carriers for universal keys they were carrying, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said.
The keys, known as “arrow keys,” open blue U.S. Postal Service collection boxes, and robberies of letter carriers for the keys to facilitate mail theft are a growing issue, prosecutors said.
Myesha Lewis, 23, of Boston, was sentenced to three years behind bars plus three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a Feb. 11 news release.
McClatchy News couldn’t reach Lewis’ attorney Feb. 12 for comment.
But he argued in a court filing, making the case for a lighter sentence, that her actions “are indeed a complete and absolute aberration of the life Ms. Lewis was living prior to (the first robbery), and had wanted to live,” noting she comes from “humble beginnings” and has no past convictions.
Co-defendant Kenneth Demosthene received the same sentence as Lewis last fall, prosecutors said.
The first robbery happened Nov. 29, 2022, in the Mattapan area of Boston, according to prosecutors.
“Demosthene approached the letter carrier and said, ‘I’m going to need your master key,’” before grabbing it from the carrier’s mail satchel, prosecutors said.
“The key was secured around the letter carrier’s belt with a brass chain,” according to prosecutors, and the carrier was pulled off the steps by the force used to break it.
Demosthene and Lewis fled in a rented vehicle, prosecutors said.
The second robbery happened Dec. 16, 2022, in Boston’s Hyde Park area, according to prosecutors.
Demosthene demanded an arrow key from a carrier, prosecutors said.
“The letter carrier put their hands in the air as the defendants attempted to remove the arrow key, at first by force pulling at the chain. Lewis and Demosthene then attempted to cut it with the knife, eventually breaking it loose and fleeing the scene on foot,” according to prosecutors.
Arrow key robberies are on the rise, prosecutors said, citing U.S. Postal Inspection Service data. In 2019, 64 were reported, compared to 605 in 2023, according to the data.
“In the last two years, 89 postal carriers were significantly injured during these robberies and at least one carrier was killed,” prosecutors said.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Woman helped rob mail carriers of universal keys in MA, feds say. She’s prison-bound."
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