HOUSTON – U.S. Postal Service officials said two armed crooks robbed one of their contract drivers, and they're offering a reward for their capture.
The contract driver had just left the main post office in downtown Houston and was headed to San Antonio for a delivery when he was ambushed, carjacked and robbed. It happened close to 10 pm Thursday night.
Police say 26-year-old John Cormier had barely made his way onto the I-10 westbound entrance ramp at Louisiana when a red Chevy Impala cut him off and boxed him in.
"The passenger of that vehicle jumped out with a handgun, held it to his head and demanded the contract driver's vehicle," said Stephanie Harden with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The suspect ordered the driver out of the van, pistol whipped him in the back of the head and then took off.
Officials said the stolen mail van was later found in the Heights on White Oak Drive. The cargo, eight sacks of registered and express mail, was missing.
"We will backtrack, the logs and everything that we have in order to get with those customers and see exactly what it is that we were transporting for them," said Harden.
Cormier is a driver for Southern Mail Service Incorporated headquartered in Conroe. The robbers also stole his wallet and cell phone during the armed heist.
A company spokesman tells Local 2 Cormier is thankful that's all they took. It's unclear if this was an isolated incident, or whether the drive was specifically targeted. That is all part of the ongoing federal investigation.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says it is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the robbers. Anyone with information is asked to call the Postal Inspection Service at 713-238-4438.