Anthony J. "A.J." Williams, a 20-year-old resident of Columbus, Ohio, has been sentenced to 84 months and one day in prison by the U.S. District Court for his involvement in armed robberies targeting United States postal carriers.
"Today’s sentencing shows our continued commitment to holding accountable individuals who break the law in relation to mail theft," stated U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. He emphasized that investigations and prosecutions will be thorough, leading to significant consequences such as Williams's seven-year prison sentence.
Court documents reveal that on November 9, 2022, Williams carried out an armed robbery of a USPS letter carrier on Michigan Ave., Columbus. The carrier was delivering mail at an apartment complex when Williams approached with a borrowed Glock19 handgun from a co-conspirator and demanded postal keys at gunpoint before taking them from the victim's belt.
Williams communicated with another accomplice orchestrating the robbery by sending photos of the stolen key. He also collaborated with this co-conspirator to plan another postal robbery for Christmas Eve 2022 and engaged in "fishing" for stolen mail using stolen postal keys.
Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested in January 2024. By July 2024, he pleaded guilty to charges including brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, committing aggravated robbery of United States property, and conspiring against the United States.
The sentence was announced by Kenneth L. Parker alongside Elena Iatarola of the FBI's Cincinnati Division and Lesley Allison from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Pittsburgh Division. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the case for the government.