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Ohio man gets 17 years in prison for armed robberies of postal workers

Thierno Bah (Butler County Jail)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 22-year-old man will spend the next 17 years in prison for four armed robberies of postal carriers, according to the office of Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

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Thierno Bah, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Friday, Jan. 31.

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Bah used guns to steal keys from four postal carriers between December 2022 and May 2023, according to the office.

He worked with others to steal service keys, which were then used to steal from USPA receptacles. This process is known as “fishing.”

People involved then “cook” the mail, meaning they wash personal and business checks, and other financial instruments, to show new payees and payment amounts, according to the office.

Bah would recruit different people to deposit the checks in their accounts and then split the profit.

Authorities arrested Bah in August 2023, according to the office.

He pleaded guilty in November 2023 and admitted to using a gun to rob a postal worker in December 2022.

The first armed robbery occurred in German Village on Dec. 29 when Bah pointed a gun at the worker’s stomach and demanded his car and service keys.

Later that week, Bah forced a postal carrier into her mail truck, pushed a gun into her side, and stole her keys on Jan. 3, 2023, along East Columbus Street, according to the office.

A few hours later, Bah approached another postal worker, pushed a gun into her stomach, and stole her personal car keys and USPS service keys in Whitehall.

In May 2023, Bah robbed a postal worker at the post office retail store on West Broad Street, according to the office.

He approached the postal worker while she was taking a break outside and asked for her keys.

The office said Bah pistol-whipped the worker in the head after she asked what he was talking about.

He then followed the worker inside to get her service keys.

“Seventeen years in federal prison is a serious consequence in line with the seriousness of this type of violent crime. We have held numerous individuals accountable in the Southern District of Ohio in recent years for their crimes against United States Postal Service carriers who are simply doing their jobs. As a result of our focused efforts and the vigorous investigations by our federal law enforcement partners, we’ve seen a decrease in new assaults,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker.

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