CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Demarkis Houston was paid to sort the mail. He was arrested, prosecutors say, for pocketing the heat.
The 30-year-old Charlotte postal worker faces up to 20 years in prison on charges that he stole a 9mm pistol being shipped through the mail last year.
Houston made his initial hearing in federal court on Friday in Charlotte. He was arrested Thursday on charges of theft of mail, mail destruction and possession of a stolen firearm. If convicted, Houston faces a combined maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.
Mail theft has become an epidemic across the Charlotte region.
Earlier this week, an area couple was indicted in federal court of stealing more than 3,700 pieces of mail from homes and collection boxes in Charlotte, Gastonia and York County, S.C. The thefts included credit cards, a passport, tax refunds, and two checks for more than $100,000.
Houston, however, pulled off an inside job, prosecutors say.
According to his indictment, Houston stole the semi-automatic 9mm Springfield Armory model Prodigy on Sept. 19, 2022, while it was passing through the Charlotte postal system.
Houston’s indictment also lists a second Springfield 9mm semi-automatic. When asked if that weapon had also been stolen from the mail, Lia Bantavani, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, would only say that it had been “seized during the investigation.”
It’s legal to ship firearms through the mail or by carrier service. That doesn’t mean they all reach the address on the package.
In 2018, five Texas men were charged with stealing more than 650 guns from United Parcel Service trailers in Springfield, Missouri.
The weapons had been shipped from Beretta Firearms in Maryland for delivery to Bass Pro Shops in Springfield.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the full take had been 600 Beretta .380-caliber handguns, 54 Beretta 12-gauge shotguns, as well as an entire pallet of Justin brand boots, power tools and 12 cases of soda.
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