DC Man Accused Of Stealing Mail From Luxury Homes In NoVA, MD

WASHINGTON, DC — A District man is facing multiple charges after federal prosecutors said he stole mail and packages from several luxury apartment buildings in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland. The man is also accused of robbing a U.S. Postal Service worker at gunpoint.

Ibrahim Emmanuel De La Cruz, 25, was extradited and charged with multiple counts of theft or receipt of stolen mail, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced Thursday. He was also charged with armed robbery in connection with the August incident involving a postal service maintenance worker.

According to prosecutors, in December 2023, several federal and local law enforcement agencies began investigating multiple high-volume mail thefts from mailboxes at multi-family luxury residences, as well as potentially related robberies of letter carriers and other victims in the D.C. area.

According to court documents, investigators determined a man later identified as De La Cruz was using stolen USPS keys to access collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units and apartment mailbox panels.

The suspect in the thefts resembled the man who robbed a postal maintenance worker of his keys on Aug. 10 while the suspect appeared to be gripping a pistol tucked into his waistband.

Using surveillance camera footage, social media posts, and cell phone tracking, investigators tied De La Cruz to mail thefts at several locations including:

• The theft of mail from apartment complexes on Feb. 19, 2024, on the 2300 block of Champlain Street NW in Washington, D.C.
• The theft of mail from collection box units on Feb. 29, 2024, from the 1600 block of R Street NW in Washington, D.C.
• The theft of mail using a stolen arrow key on March 3, 2024, from an outdoor locked mail area on the 2200 block of 17th Street NW in Washington, D.C.
• The theft of mail using a stolen arrow key on March 4, 2024, from the 2400 block of Ontario Road NW in Washington, D.C.
• The theft of mail on March 5, 2024, from the 2100 block of California Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.
• The theft of mail on March 5, 2024, from the National Landing in Arlington, Virginia.
• The theft of mail from cluster boxes using an arrow key on March 21, 2024, on the 1500 block of Pointer Ridge Place in Bowie, Maryland.
• The theft of mail on August 10, 2024, from the 700 block of Parkside Place NE in Washington, D.C.

According to prosecutors, De La Cruz also used personal identifying information found in the stolen mail to obtain bank accounts and credit cards in other people’s names. He also used money stolen from accounts to pay for student tuition, rent, utilities and cell phone bills, prosecutors said.

According to the complaint, De La Cruz also posted a rap video on YouTube boasting about the crimes.