CHICAGO – Prosecutors have charged a man with robbing packages from a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier.
“This is a robbery, don’t move,” David Atwater reportedly warned as he entered the carrier’s work truck. ‘Where are the phones? You move, I shoot.”
Police said the robbery happened as the postal worker was making her rounds in the 11500 block of South May on Oct. 4.
The 24-year-old suggested he had a weapon by putting his hand in his pocket and pointing to the bulge, officials said in the lawsuits. Atwater allegedly took three sealed packages and escaped on a scooter.
Officials said the mail carrier recognized Atwater because she saw him while working her route. She also chose him from a photo lineup, they said.
Judge Susana Ortiz noted that Atwater was “just off parole” due to a weapons offense conviction and ordered him held pending trial. Court records show Atwater was placed on probation for a previous gun case.
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