Oakland Man Sentenced To Prison For Armed Attacks Targeting East Oakland Postal Workers
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A 31-year-old Oakland man has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in federal prison for committing five armed robberies or attempted robberies of U.S Postal Service letter carriers in East Oakland last year including stealing mail containing California Employment Development Department debit cards.
Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and United States Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Rafael Nuñez said David Leveren Quinn pleaded guilty Thursday and was quickly sentenced to prison.
According to his plea agreement, Quinn admitted that he used a stolen EDD debit card to make purchases and cash withdrawals amounting to over $10,000 including purchasing a Cadillac SUV that he later used in yet another attempted robbery.
Prosecutors said Quinn has admitted that between August 11, 2020, and September 25, 2020, he worked with one or more conspirators to commit five robberies or attempted robberies.
The plea agreement also provided descriptions of the robberies and attempted robberies.
In one of the robberies, Quinn admitted he approached a letter carrier at her mail truck at which time she asked him to stay at least six feet away from her because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Quinn drew a firearm from his waistband, pointed it at her stomach and told her to stay out of the way.
Quinn then took trays of mail from the letter carrier's mail truck and demanded that the letter carrier give him the mail she was holding.
In a separate attempted robbery, Quinn admitted that he told the letter carrier that he had a gun as he approached the letter carrier's mail truck. Further, Quinn also admitted that his co-conspirator carried a firearm during another robbery.
The plea agreement also described how Quinn used some of the mail that he stole.
For example, during one of the robberies, Quinn stole mail that originated from the California Employment Development Department. The mail contained a debit card and Quinn performed internet searches to obtain the addressee's personal identifying information, including social security number and to activate the debit card.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Gonzalez Rogers ordered Quinn to serve a three-year period of supervision following his release from prison. Quinn is currently in federal custody and will immediately begin serving his prison term.