Reward offered in investigation of attack on postal worker

 Anniston, Al.
The U.S. Postal Service is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for anyone who has information about the assault of an Anniston letter carrier.

The assault happened between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 31, when the 50-year-old man was delivering mail on McKleroy Avenue in West Anniston.

Police said the postal worker had pulled up to a mailbox in the 3100 block, when a male suspect jumped into his truck and began to assault him.

The suspect, identified as a man in his mid-20s, first used a stun gun to repeatedly shock the letter carrier and afterward began to beat the victim with his fists, Anniston police Lt. Fred Forsythe said.

The letter carrier fought back and managed to push the suspect out of the truck and drive a short distance away before notifying Anniston EMS, police said.

Emergency workers arrived and transported the victim to Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Anniston investigators for weeks have tried to establish a motive for the crime but have so far been unsuccessful. The suspect did not attempt to steal anything from the postal truck, and there appears to be no connection between the suspect and victim, police said.

Lead investigator Clint Parris called the crime a “random act of violence.” He said the letter carrier was not working his normal mail route on the day of the assault; the victim had been covering the West Anniston route for a coworker.

Now, in an attempt to encourage people who know anything about the crime to speak up, the Postal Service is offering up to $50,000 to anyone who helps lead to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the assault.

So far, police have no other identifying information about the suspect other than a general description of his age.

Residents who have information about the crime should contact the Anniston Police Department’s investigative division at 256-240-4000 or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455, option 2.