NEWPORT NEWS — Five additional co-conspirators have been sentenced to prison for their part in a broader conspiracy to rob mail carriers at gunpoint, break into collection boxes to steal mail, and commit bank fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.

According to court documents, from at least April through July of 2023, 21-year-old Ricky Damion Christopher Jones Jr., aka David William Smith or “Top!,” led at least seven others in a conspiracy to rob U.S. Postal Service mail carriers at gunpoint for their arrow keys, which the co-conspirators then either sold or used to break into collection boxes.

Arrow keys are master keys used by USPS mail carriers to access blue collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, and apartment mailbox panels, according to officials. They are highly valued by criminals who use them to steal mail and commit crimes including bank and check fraud and identity theft.

The co-conspirators included: 21-year-old Dashawn Evans-McCloud, aka Shawn or RI$E, of Virginia Beach; 24-year-old Samir As-Sad Hurd, aka Prodigy, of Chesapeake; 21-year-old Chanz Lamarion Pough, aka NSO Up, of Frederick, Maryland; 23-year-old Manray A.C. Perry, of Virginia Beach; 22-year-old O’Sirus Charles Landres Ford , aka Siris or John Jack, of Chesapeake; 21-year-old Jayden Stukes, of Chesapeake; and 24-year-old Datwan Watson, of Chesapeake.

According to officials, on May 8, Ford orchestrated the robbery of a USPS carrier in Norfolk at gunpoint, taking both his arrow key and his USPS identification card. Perry and the minor agreed to commit another robbery in Hampton the following day, but each backed out.

Officials said Ford then recruited Stukes and, with Watson’s assistance, robbed another carrier of his arrow key at gunpoint in Hampton on May 9, threatening to shoot the victim.

Despite Ford’s June 6, 2023, arrest, the remaining co-conspirators went forward with additional robberies. On July 20, 2023, prosecutors said Evans-McCloud served as the gunman and Hurd as the getaway driver for one attempted robbery in James City County, then two more completed robberies in James City County and Hampton.

Subsequent investigation revealed that Jones, Evans-McCloud, Pough, Hurd, and Ford were also participating in related bank and wire fraud schemes involving “card cracking” and “check washing,” according to officials.

The James City County Police Department and Hampton Police Department assisted in the investigation of this case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.