Man used USPS keys to get into Warner Robins mailboxes, steal checks. He’s sentenced
A Warner Robins man will serve over three years in prison for stealing specialized keys used by the U.S. Postal Service to break into mailboxes and steal checks.
Chashon Malik Hayes appeared in front of Judge Marc Treadwell Wednesday morning for sentencing after he pleaded guilty on April 23 to one count of stealing USPS’ “arrow keys,” which are specialized keys to use on locks on authorized mail receptacles. Hayes admitted getting into mailboxes in Warner Robins to steal checks, money orders and debit and credit cards.
He was caught after an anonymous source told law enforcement in February 2024 that Hayes was “conducting check fraud,” court records show.
Hayes was recommended to serve between 37 and 46 months according to the federal sentencing guidelines. His attorney, Robert Cabe, claimed that the high recommended sentencing time was due to law enforcement finding a Draco pistol among his belongings, which also included $659,000 in stolen checks and money orders, when they executed a search warrant in his apartment on March 19, 2024.
While Cabe told Treadwell that the gun was not used in relation to the scheme, U.S. Attorney William Keyes argued that it was, saying it was “common sense” for him to have an intimidating gun after stealing from mailboxes.
Ultimately, Cabe advocated for Hayes to serve a sentence at the bottom of the guideline because his ambitious personality led him to want to show off “in an illegal way,” he told Treadwell. Hayes also spoke to Treadwell, apologizing to him and his family for his actions.
Keyes wanted Hayes to serve a sentence at the top of the guidelines, in an effort to teach people that there are “serious consequences” for this type of theft.
Treadwell agreed with Keyes and sentenced him to 46 months, which totals three years and 10 months in prison with an additional three years of supervised release.
His sentence will run consecutively with other sentences he will eventually receive in pending cases in Houston County, which includes forgery, financial identity fraud and violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
