Two DeKalb County drug dealers will spend years in federal prison for robbing U.S. postal workers to steal marijuana, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
William James Wilkins, 28, and Michael Anthony Fairnot-Woods, 27, both of Decatur, each pleaded guilty to two counts of armed postal robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute it, acting U.S. Attorney John Horn said in an emailed statement.
“Postal workers perform an important public service and should not have their lives jeopardized simply for doing their jobs,” Horn said. “The fact that they were targeted in broad daylight while delivering mail in quiet residential neighborhoods is one more indication of the disregard those in the illegal drug trade have for other people’s lives.”
Between August 2012 through January 2013, the duo robbed various postal workers at gunpoint in order to steal marijuana being illegally shipped to rival drug dealers, according to investigators.
Wilkins was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,895.37. Fairnot-Woods was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,895.37.
A third co-conspirator, Joshua Ellis, 22, of Decatur, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of possessing stolen mail for his role in the scheme, Horns’s office said. Ellis was sentenced Friday to three years on probation and ordered to pay the same amount in restitution.
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