James Chandler, Postal Worker Kidnapping and Robbery, Pennsylvania 2021

A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in prison for kidnapping and robbing two United States Postal Workers.

James Chandler, 55, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick on January 11, 2023 (Note: This article was published in 2023, but there is a missing date from the source, the source shows a 2021 crime date) for two counts of robbery of a postal worker and one count of kidnapping.

According to court documents, Chandler committed the crimes in January and February 2021, during which he robbed postal workers using a replica handgun, forcing them into their postal trucks and stealing packages from inside. In one of the incidents, Chandler also forced a postal worker to drive him for several blocks in her postal truck before he fled on foot.

“Targeting and violently assaulting employees of the United States Postal Service is a serious federal crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. “Mail carriers provide an essential service to nearly every citizen and business, oftentimes going above and beyond to execute their duties in challenging circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Chandler terrorized two postal workers at gunpoint, and he will now spend decades behind bars for his actions.”

Chandler pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2021 and was sentenced accordingly.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Philadelphia Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.

The defendant’s name is James Chandler, and he is a 55-year-old man from Philadelphia, PA. The exact criminal charges are two counts of robbery of a postal worker and one count of kidnapping. The sentencing occurred on January 11, 2023, but this is after his 2021 crime dates. The sentence is 21 years and 10 months in prison, and five supervised release. There are no dollar amounts mentioned in the source.

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