Kankakee man faces federal charges in robbery of postal carrier

CHICAGO — A Kankakee man faces federal charges for allegedly robbing a United States postal carrier at gunpoint in a Chicago suburb last week.

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, 18-year-old Ahmel Holmes, of Kankakee, allegedly robbed the postal carrier on Jan. 8 in Harvey.

The postal carrier was on duty that morning delivering mail along East 158th Street near Union Avenue when Holmes approached her with a gun equipped with a drum magazine and demanded her belongings, the complaint stated.

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

Shortly after the robbery, two postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were canvassing the area when they observed three individuals near an alley.

When the inspectors moved toward them to speak with them, one of the men — Jesus Santillan, 19, of Harvey — pointed a handgun at the inspectors and fired shots, the complaint stated.

The inspectors were not wounded and did not return fire, but they chased Santillan into a nearby residence, where they arrested him, the complaint stated. The inspectors also found Holmes in the residence and took him into custody.

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

Santillan is charged with using a deadly and dangerous weapon to assault postal inspectors and impede performance of their official duties, which is punishable by up to 20 years, a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern Division of Illinois said.

The complaint was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ruth Mendonça, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The Harvey Police Department provided assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Maione.