TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A 26-year-old Tallahassee man will spend two years in federal prison for the assault of a USPS mail carrier with a gun.
Darius Lee Allen, 26, of Tallahassee, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison for assaulting a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier with a firearm.
Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentencing on Wednesday.
“Individuals commit a crime when they try to disrupt a mail carrier’s solemn duty, and Allen’s assault on this federal officer also endangered others in the area," said Keefe.
The incident happened in a residential neighborhood in Tallahassee on April 2, 2020 when a USPS mail carrier was delivering mail.
As the employee attempted to deliver mail to a mailbox, Allen approached him and demanded that the carrier hand him the mail instead. Because the mail carrier did not recognize Allen as a resident of that address, he refused and placed the mail in the mailbox.
About 20 minutes later, as the carrier continued delivering mail to other homes in the neighborhood, Allen walked up to the mail carrier’s vehicle and shot a gun in the air. Afterward, Allen immediately ran away.
The mail carrier also drove away in his vehicle and called 911 to report the incident. Officers from the Tallahassee Police Department responded and found the gun Allen had discharged as well as the spent casing from the round that was fired.
Allen was then arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
