Ahmel Holmes, Armed Robbery of a Postal Carrier, Illinois 2025

A chilling crime unfolded in a Chicago suburb as a man was charged with robbing a United States Postal Service carrier at gunpoint.

On January 8, 2025, AHMEL HOLMES, 18, of Kankakee, Illinois, allegedly robbed the postal carrier in Harvey, Illinois.

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, HOLMES approached the postal carrier with a gun equipped with a drum magazine and demanded her belongings.

The postal carrier was on duty that morning delivering mail along East 158th Street near Union Avenue when the robbery occurred.

HOLMES then demanded and obtained access to the victim’s postal vehicle, from which he took a USPS tub containing mail.

HOLMES is charged with armed robbery of a postal carrier, which is punishable by up to 25 years in federal prison.

A detention hearing for HOLMES is scheduled for January 14, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffery T. Gilbert.

In a separate incident, JESUS SANTILLAN, 19, of Harvey, Illinois, was charged with using a deadly and dangerous weapon to assault postal inspectors and impede performance of their official duties.

According to the complaint, SANTILLAN pointed a handgun at the inspectors and fired shots shortly after the robbery.

The inspectors were not wounded and did not return fire, but they chased SANTILLAN into a nearby residence, where they arrested him.

SANTILLAN waived his right to a detention hearing at this stage of the case and was ordered to remain held in federal custody.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Maione.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.