By Fred Guarino

The Lowndes Signal

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) who shot and robbed a postal truck driver on Thursday, Aug. 1, between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m at the Hayneville Post Office.

Yulanda N. Burns, U.S. Postal Inspector with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Atlanta, made the announcement on Friday.

Burns said, “The same reward may be payable for information and service leading to the arrest and conviction of any person:
(A) As an accessory to the above crime;
(B) For conspiracy to commit the above crime;
(C) For receiving or having unlawful possession of any property secured through the above crime.”

She said any information concerning this crime should be furnished to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 (Option 2) or the Alabama Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-392-8011.

George Frazier, assistant inspector in charge from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Atlanta, said “One of our postal drivers was attacked and was shot.”

He said the driver, who had been shot with a handgun, was in “stable condition” in an Intensive Care Unit at an undisclosed hospital in Montgomery on Friday.

“Needless to say, it was an unnecessary crime that was conducted on one of our employees or contractors,” he said.

He also it was a crime that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service “doesn’t take too lightly.”

Frazier said the U.S. Postal Inspection Service would use all available resources, not just in Alabama but also throughout the country, “to vigorously try to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

He said a crime lab team out of Virginia is processing the crime scene.

Frazier also said, “We know that there was some mail taken,” but said, “We are not at liberty to divulge any additional information.”

Frazier said anyone who saw anything unusual or suspicious in the area of the post office on Academy Lane and East Tuskeena Street, asking questions or wearing clothing out of the ordinary should let them know.

He said the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is working with state and local officials in the investigation and that the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and ABI are assisting.