Two Chatham County men have been sentenced to prison after investigators caught them stealing mail from blue collection boxes.
Brandon Chavonte Mincey, 34, and Antwan Williams, 52, both of Savannah, each pled guilty to Possession of a Stolen Mail Key, said Margaret E. “Meg” Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge R. Stan Baker sentenced Mincey to 40 months in prison, and Williams to 15 months in prison, and each man also must pay a fine of $1,200 and serve three years of supervised release upon completion of their prison terms.
There is no parole in the federal system.
“This case is an excellent example of good police work stopping a crime in progress and holding the criminals accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Heap. “These sentences should send a warning to mail thieves: We will find you and put you in prison.”
In July 2025, investigators from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducting proactive surveillance observed a vehicle pull up to a blue collection box at 10701 Abercorn Street in Savannah and later to another box at 1348 Eisenhower Avenue. In each incident, one of the occupants of the vehicle opened the box, removed the mail and dumped it in the rear of the vehicle.
Police pulled the vehicle over, with Mincey and Williams inside, and recovered a trash bag full of mail and a U.S. Postal Service key used to access the collection boxes. Investigators determined that checks recovered from 310 pieces of mail from 58 businesses or individuals added up to more than $58,000 in potential losses. All of the mail was returned to the victims.
“The theft of mail has consequences, and the sentencing of these defendants sends a message that if you steal mail then you will go to jail,” said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. “Postal Inspectors have a duty to protect the integrity of the mail and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat mail theft.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Savannah Police Department and the Chatham County Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan E. Bondura.
This is a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.
