Two suspects use letter to Santa to attack mail carrier, steal packages in Jurupa Valley

JURUPA VALLEY, CA (FOX 11) - Police are looking for a man and a woman accused of attacking a postal service worker while she was delivering mail in a neighborhood last Saturday.

The incident happened around 2:45 pm on the 6300 block of Williams Avenue.

Deputies for the Jurupa Valley Police Department were dispatched to the street in reference to a robbery.

There they found a United States Postal Office employee who had been robbed of several packages before delivering them.

A woman told FOX 11's Leah Uko the incident scared her when she heard the mail carrier scream.

"When I come out and reach over to see the mail lady she was bleeding," she continued.

"She was very frightened. She was pepper sprayed. She couldn't see. Her eyes were really watery. She had blood running all on the side of her face. It was very sad."

The woman, who didn't want her identity revealed, said the carrier told her that she noticed a man and woman following her, but thought nothing of it because people always approach her and give her mail when she's out.

In a report, Riverside County Sheriff's Office stated the female suspect gave the carrier a letter addressed to "Santa Clause North Pole".

When the carrier looked at the letter, the woman sprayed her. Then the male suspect approached and physically assaulted the victim.

"It was scary because I have my four boys right behind me and just thinking that those people could have had a gun. It was very frightening."

The Sheriff's office said the man and woman drove off in a 1990s or early 2000s white Ford Expedition with tinted windows and silver five star rims.

The female suspect was described as white, in her 30s last seen wearing a black t-shirt and black spandex.

The man was described as white, in his 40s last seen wearing a black baseball hat, black t-shirt and blue jeans.

Stacia Crane with the U.S. Postal Investigation Service said it was peak time for thieves to take advantage of employees and customers.

She asked that customers be twice as vigilant with reporting anything and anyone suspicious because during this time of the year, crimes of opportunity are twice as likely.

USPS wouldn't comment on the investigation or the mail carrier's condition.

If you know anything you're asked to call the Jurupa Valley Sheriff's station at (951) 955-2600.