A former United States Postal Service employee is set to spend more than 15 years in federal prison for her role in the robbery and shooting of a postal truck driver.
LaTonya Evans, 44, of Jackson, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. to 15 years and eight months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, authorities said Friday. She was convicted Sept. 9 after pleading guilty to conspiring to interfere with commerce by robbery.
According to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, Evans provided information to two men that allowed them to rob a postal truck driver. On Dec. 20, the two men approached the driver during a routine pickup in Conley and demanded his keys. When the man did not immediately comply, one of the men shot him in the torso. The injury nearly took his life.
Yates said the robbers also bound the victim’s feet and took his cell phone so he could not reach out for help. The two drove away with the truck and its contents and met with Evans later that evening to discuss the robbery. Meanwhile, the victim struggled to reach a nearby road, where he was able to flag down a passerby for help after waiting nearly 45 minutes.
“By providing her co-defendants with inside information, Evans enabled a robbery that nearly killed her co-worker,” Yates said in a news release Friday. “Evans used her knowledge of the postal service for personal gain and violated the trust of the public and her fellow postal workers.”
Evans’ co-defendants, 39-year-old Kendrick Watkins, of Rex, and 55-year-old Charles Jackson, of Griffin, were convicted in August after both pleaded guilty to armed postal robbery and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. Their sentencing has been set for Jan. 7 and both face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
About the Author
