Postal carrier shot for keeping drugs he delivered

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Postal carrier shot for keeping drugs he delivered

 

READER COMMENT:
SURE, GIVE THE GOVERNMENT A BACKDOOR TO MY APPLE...

 

 

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The shooting of a U.S. postal worker on Dearborn Avenue was the result of a drug deal, according to an affidavit filed in federal court Monday.

Marcus Bennett, the brother of Eric Bennett, who previously was charged by the Commonwealth Attorney, faces federal charges of assault against a federal government worker and discharging a weapon in the commission of a violent offense. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the first crime and a minimum of 10 years to life for the second crime. The charges would run consecutively.

The day after the Feb. 10 shooting, postal inspectors received a tip that a person named "MIZ" from Victory Park, later identified as Marcus Bennett, was supposed to receive a package containing drugs via U.S. Mail approximately two weeks earlier, but the mail carrier, Da'Ron Lester, kept the package, and that's why he was shot, the affidavit said.

In an interview with postal inspectors after being released from a hospital, Lester said Marcus Bennett confronted him about the missing package, and Lester told him he knew nothing about it. Lester said the conversation ended with Bennett telling him to "stay safe."

Lester has a history of drug charges including a felony conviction for possession of cocaine in 2007, among other drug-related misdemeanors.

According to the Postal Service's website, it conducts criminal background checks, researching the counties in which a potential employee lived during a five-year stretch. Having a prior conviction alone doesn't exclude you from getting the job, according to the USPS website. It's on an individual basis and on the nature of the conviction.

The U.S. Attorney said Lester has not been charged. The US Postal Service could not confirm Monday afternoon if Lester still had a job.

U.S Postal Inspectors also received two anonymous tips that Lester had delivered two other packages containing illegal drugs on his mail route and had failed to deliver a third package of drugs.

The affidavit stated that Eric Bennett, 37, was driving the car from which shots were fired at Lester on Feb. 10, and his brother Marcus was in the passenger seat. Lester was shot multiple times.
 

Eric Bennett has an extensive criminal history that dates back 16 years. His most serious previous charge was attempted murder of a police officer in 2010. He faces state charges of attempted murder and assault in Lester's shooting and is being held at Metro Corrections on a $500,000 bond.

 

http://www.wave3.com/story/31283250/feds-postal-carrier-shot-for-keeping-drugs-he-delivered-on-his-route

RELATED:

 

Jury Convicts Former IRS Revenue Agent of Accepting Bribe

 

http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/jury-convicts-former-irs-revenue-agent-accepting-bribe