Stoughton man pleads guilty to robbing Boston postal workers, including one at knifepoint

A Stoughton man accused of robbing two United States postal workers has pleaded guilty in federal court, according to the Department of Justice.

Kenneth Demosthene, 24, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to several charges related to the thefts, including "two counts each of robbery of any person having lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or of any money or other property of the United States, aiding and abetting and two counts each of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees, aiding and abetting," prosecutors with the U.S. attorney's office for Massachusetts said in a statement.

Demosthene and a second person were indicted in the case. Prosecutors say the pair robbed two postal workers of their "arrow keys," or master keys used to open blue mailboxes found along the street. Someone with a key could open any mailbox along the road, giving them access to the mail inside.

In November 2022, prosecutors said, Demosthene told a letter carrier working in Mattapan, "I'm going to need your master key." He then reportedly grabbed the key, which was strapped to the carrier's waist by a brass chain. He yanked so hard to break the chain, he pulled the poster worker off a set of steps.

In a second robbery a month later in Hyde Park, prosecutors said he threatened the postal worker with a knife before trying to use it to cut the key free from its chain. Demosthene eventually ran off with the key.

"Since July 2022, there have been at least 23 assaults on USPS letter carriers while in the performance of their official duties in Boston and its surrounding communities," the department wrote in its statement. "These incidents included the attempted or successful robbery of USPS arrow keys from letter carriers. Additionally, of these 23, 15 of the robberies were instances where the perpetrators were reportedly armed with a knife, firearm, or both."

Demosthene will return to court in October to face sentencing.