DALLAS — Following a collaborative effort by the Dallas Police Department and United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Donnie Arlondo Ferrell, 25, of Hutchins, Texas, is in federal custody on a federal criminal complaint for the February 19, 2018 murder of a United States Postal Service employee. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas.

Ferrell is charged with one count of murder of an officer or employee of the United States or of any agency in any branch of the United States government, while such officer or employee was engaged in or on the account of the performance of official duties. Ferrell will make his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford.

“While our family of federal employees is saddened by the tragic loss of one of our own, I am proud of the cooperative effort by our federal and local law enforcement partners to solve this heinous crime, especially the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Dallas Police Department,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “With this arrest, we take a crucial step towards ensuring that the person allegedly responsible for this senseless murder is brought to justice.”

“On behalf of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, I would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the Mosby family for the tragic loss of their loved one,” said Thomas Noyes, Inspector in Charge of the Fort Worth Division, U.S Postal Inspection Service. “The cooperation among federal and local law enforcement agencies in this matter is a prime example of how we work best when we work together. I would like to thank the dedicated Postal Inspectors and staff as well as the Dallas Police Department, our federal partners, and U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox and her staff for their dedication and partnership in seeing this case brought to prosecution.”

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, on February 19, 2018, shortly after 2:00 a.m., an United States Postal Service (“USPS”) employee left the Dallas Main Post Office in a USPS box truck. Minutes later, at least three gunshots were fired at the USPS employee and his truck. One of the shots fatally struck him in his head.

On the morning of February 21, 2018, two individuals visited the FBI’s office in Fort Worth, Texas, and stated that they had information related to the killing.

According to interviews of the two individuals, on the night of February 18, 2018, they met two other individuals, including Ferrell, at a restaurant in Dallas, Texas. Later that night, after several stops, all four of these individuals left a pool hall in Dallas at approximately 1:30 a.m. in the early morning of February 19, 2018. Ferrell was sitting in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.

According to additional information provided during the interview, the driver of the vehicle began driving erratically and, at one point, was right behind a large USPS truck. The driver attempted to drive the vehicle around the USPS truck by passing it on the truck’s left hand side. Moments later, Ferrell fired several shots from a handgun in the direction of the USPS truck. The occupants of the vehicle observed smoke and sparks coming from the truck and the truck eventually crashing into the barrier. One of the occupants asked Ferrell why he had shot the gun toward the truck and Ferrell responded that the driver of the USPS truck had made a hand gesture towards their vehicle and that angered him.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The penalty for the offense as charged is any terms of years or for life and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl, Keith Robinson, Nicole Dana, Errin Martin, and Brian Portugal.

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