Two charged with robbing letter carriers in Mattapan, Hyde Park for mailbox keys

A Dorchester woman and an alleged accomplice from Stoughton were arrested yesterday on charges they robbed letter carriers in Hyde Park and Mattapan, one at knife point, for keys that would let them open streetside mailboxes to rummage for checks that could be altered and deposited.

Myesha Lewis, 21, of Dorchester, and Kenneth Demosthene, 22, of Stoughton, face potential maximum sentences of more than 30 years in federal prison if convicted on charges of robbing postal carriers and assaulting them.

In an affidavit, a postal inspector reports investigators were able to find and track the pair in part because Demosthene wore a distinctive hoodie, whose maker provided records showing which five Massachusetts residents bought one, and because Lewis drove a getaway car rented from Zipcar, which provided GPS tracking data.

In the affidavit, the inspector writes the two robberies were among more than a dozen incidents of Boston-area letter carriers being attacked since July of last year - ten involving the theft of "Arrow" keys, which carriers use to open mailboxes along their routes. The inspector writes that would-be check thieves turned to stealing the keys after the Postal Service began installing mailboxes that made it more difficult to "fish" envelopes out of boxes with sticky substances attached to strings.

The inspector writes that around 2 p.m. on Nov. 29, Demosthene went up to a letter carrier who had just finished delivering mail at 8 Hiawatha Rd., off Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan, said "Can I ask you a question?" and then "I'm going to need your Arrow key."

VICTIM 1 stated that UNK-1 [later IDed as Demosthene] "yanked pretty hard" on the key, which was secured to VICTIM 1's clothing per USPS policy with a brass chain. The mechanical force employed by UNK-1 caused the brass chain to break, allowing UNK-1 to flee ROBBERY LOCATION-1 in possession of VICTIM 1's USPS Arrow key on foot up Mattapan St. In addition to the USPS Arrow key, VICTIM 1's key ring contained a fob for an apartment complex in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, MA, and a third unidentified key.

He then got into a Corolla driven by a woman later identified as Lewis, the affidavit continues.

Around 4:50 p.m. on Dec. 16, the pair struck again, this time at Park and Arlington streets in Hyde Park.

According to VICTIM 2, UNK-4 [later IDed as Demosthene] produced a black handled knife with a silver blade approximately 2.5" – 3" long as he approached VICTIM 2 and said, "Give me your fucking Arrow key." VICTIM 2 put his hands in the air and attempted to remove the Arrow key that was secured to his clothing per USPS policy with a brass chain. UNK-3 [possibly Lewis] or UNK-4 pulled on the chain while attempting to cut it with the knife, while UNK-3 yelled at VICTIM 2, "Hurry up."

After taking the Arrow key from VICTIM 2, UNK-3 and UNK-4 fled up Arlington St. in the direction of River St. The weather conditions present at the time, heavy wind and rain, made VICTIM 2’s attempts to call 911 difficult. He took shelter on the porch of 105 Arlington St. while reporting the incident. VICTIM 2 recalled seeing UNK-3 and UNK-4 approximately 45-60 minutes prior to the robbery in the area of 73 Arlington St. He noted that UNK-3 and UNK-4 did not appear wet at that time despite the heavy rain, stating that he believed they must have been in a vehicle or inside a building.

In both cases, the man wore a hoodie with "Lonely Hearts Club" written in large letters on the back.

I have reviewed records from Massive Action LLC, which document sales of "Lonely Hearts Club" sweatshirts in base color black with white or rhinestone lettering. The records show that Kenneth DEMOSTHENE was one of approximately five fulfilled orders sent to Massachusetts for the entire production run of the product. DEMOSTHENE utilized the Google email address associated with DEMOSTHENE's Zipcar account and DEMOSTHENE'S PHONE as identifiers for the order, which was filled on January 3, 2022.

Demosthene, allegedly, running after Mattapan robbery:

Last Friday, armed with search warrants, postal inspectors raided Lewis's home on Harvard Street in Dorchester and Demosthene's home in Stoughton.

LEWIS was present at her residence when agents executed the search warrant and was wearing a black colored sweatshirt bearing contrast "Nike" writing and emblem on the front. This sweatshirt appears to be the same as the one worn by UNK-3 during the robbery on December 16, 2022. Law enforcement recovered a number of items of note from LEWIS' bedroom at her home in Dorchester. These items included a USPS vehicle key on ring with medallion bearing vehicle number: 0231361. USPS records indicate that USPS vehicle 0231361 was temporarily assigned to Hyde Park and returned to the USPS Vehicle Maintenance Facility to have its locks replaced on December 17, 2022, the day following the Hyde Park Robbery during which Victim 2's keyring was stolen. In addition, law enforcement recovered a silver folding pocketknife, Vipertek stun gun, mail in the name of DEMOSTHENE.

Demosthene was not home. Inspectors found him, the affidavit states, at his girlfriend's place in Wilmington - after his sister tried to warn him:

Innocent, etc.

Complete affidavit (840k PDF).