MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A judge determined that a 19-year-old from Ocala is too dangerous to be released from jail while he awaits trial for allegedly robbing postal carriers.
Jacoby Colon is accused of robbing two mail carriers in Orlando and one in South Florida to get his hands on master keys, which are used to store and deliver mail.
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Investigators believe he used one of the keys to steal mail.
Investigators believe Colon robbed a mail carrier in Pine Hills on Oct. 4 last year.
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U.S. Postal Inspector Rick Johnsten said he can’t talk specifics of Colon’s case, but said they’ve had a series of mail carrier robberies across Florida in recent months.
He said the thieves are targeting so-called arrow keys, which is a master key that can be used to open mail drop boxes and clusters of delivery boxes.
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In this case, investigators believe Colon robbed another carrier near a box in Pine Hills two days later and had already pulled a similar robbery in South Florida a week earlier.
A Jeep was also captured on video near the scene of some of the robberies, and investigators were able to connect it to another suspect – Darius Capers.
Investigators said Capers pointed the finger at Colon as the actual robber.
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“These kinds of thefts or robberies affect entire community. So once you know robbery occurs or after that, they want to steal mail,” Johnsten said.
Investigators said they believe Colon used one of the arrow keys to steal mail from a box outside the Azalea Park post office, including checks.
They said they found stolen mail during search warrants at the homes of both suspects.
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“They’ll take the checks, alter them, or they’ll just reproduce an entirely different check
using that information they stole,” Johnsten said.
Colon was out on bond for an armed trespassing case in Ocala when investigators believe he robbed the postal carriers.
U.S. postal inspectors said they’ve made six arrests recently and the robberies have slowed down.
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