A man has been identified and charged in relation to a Bronx post office robbery that took place last month, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District on Friday.
After investigation into surveillance camera footage and state Department of Motor Vehicle records, the FBI and NYPD revealed Elhorin Yisreal, 44, of Pelham Bay, to be the prime suspect in the Sept. 6 robbery at the 1163 Castle Hill Ave. USPS location in Unionport. Yisreal was arrested on Thursday.
According to a warrant request from NYPD Task Force Officer Cristofer Schiavone, Yisreal — wearing black clothing and a black face mask — allegedly jumped a USPS employee and her husband and held them at gunpoint as they opened the post office around 7 a.m. on Sept. 6. Yisreal then ordered the pair to open a safe, where he stole approximately $100,000 worth of cash, a machine to print money orders and blank money orders. Surveillance video of the incident showed Yisreal fleeing in a white Honda Odyssey after the armed robbery.
The FBI and NYPD used the video footage from the city Department of Transportation to identify Yisreal, according to the warrant request, along with records from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles — wherein they were able to trace the Honda Odyssey back to Yisreal — and various social media platforms.
Yisreal was charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery — which prohibits the actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Hobbs Act robbery carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, the release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office states.
Yisreal was also charged with one count of brandishing a firearm, for which he faces a minimum mandatory sentence of seven years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
