A man accused of robbing a postal carrier in Arlington before embarking on a series of mail thefts across the D.C. area has been arrested and is facing multiple charges.
Federal prosecutors believe that Ibrahim Emmanuel De La Cruz, 25, stole a universal key during the robbery and used it to improperly access nearly a dozen mailboxes across Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.
With personal information contained in people’s mail, the suspect would access bank accounts and activate credit cards — using the proceeds to pay rent, utilities, tuition and cellphone bills for himself, his family or his romantic partners, court documents allege.
The initial robbery, which occurred along Army Navy Drive in Pentagon City in December 2023, took place three months before De La Cruz began directly targeting mailboxes in the region, prosecutors said.
Across 15 days in February and March, De La Cruz is believed to have stolen mail from five different residential locations in Northwest D.C. and from one property located at 1201 S. Joyce Street, in Westpost at National Landing.
De La Cruz is believed to have struck again in Maryland on March 21 and in Northeast D.C. on Aug. 10, where he is accused of threatening to shoot a U.S. Postal Service employee during a robbery, according to court records.
A statement of facts filed with the case notes that a rap music video starring De La Cruz was uploaded to YouTube two years ago, with lyrics that seemingly allude to the crimes of which he is now accused.
De La Cruz faces five counts of stealing mail in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, as well as one count of armed robbery of mail. An arraignment had not been scheduled as of Wednesday night.
