RIVERSIDE, CALIF.
A father and son were arrested and charged with a robbery late last week at a U.S. Postal Service facility in Victorville, officials announced Monday.
According to court documents filed in federal court Friday on Friday, the father and son – Corey Parker Sr., 46, and Corey Parker Jr., 23, both of Adelanto – also are suspects in a series of Postal truck robberies across Southern California that has caused more than $400,000 in losses.
The complaint charges both men with conspiracy to rob the Victorville Post Office on Thursday night.
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaints, the pair also are believed to have committed a string of postal truck robberies over the last 18 months – thefts that occurred while the trucks were moving or otherwise in transit.
During those robberies, officials allege that the thieves jumped on the back of a postal truck and opened the rear door to steal the truck’s contents, specifically registered mail that included cash, checks and money orders.
The Parkers made their initial court appearances on Friday afternoon. They are being held without bond.
“The brazen acts of these defendants demonstrate the lengths to which mail thieves will go, including jumping onto moving vehicles and attempting to rob secure post offices,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This case is the latest of several cases highlighting my office’s focus on criminals victimizing the Postal Service and its customers.”
“This arrest is a result of determination and good old-fashioned police work exhibited by the Postal Inspectors assigned to the case,” said William Hedrick, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. He added, “A large part of the Postal Inspection Service mission is assuring the safety of postal employees and we want them to have confidence that they can focus on their duties. These types of crimes against postal employees are rare, but when they do occur, they become top priority for us.”
If convicted of the conspiracy charge in the criminal complaint, the defendants each would face up to five years in federal prison.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.