CHICAGO — A man accused of robbing a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier has been given a four-year sentence. Michael Valentine, 38, received a concurrent four-year sentence for using the postal worker’s master key to steal mail in Rogers Park.
Postal service masters, also known as “arrow keys,” allow mail carriers to access apartment buildings and mailbox systems.
Cops initially arrested Valentine in the 6700 block of North Lakewood on December 6, 2023, after receiving a call about a burglary in progress. The police said they found bulk mail addressed to different people inside Valentine’s canvas bag and a postal service master key about 15 feet from where they detained him.
Investigators determined that the key had been taken from a mail carrier weeks earlier during a robbery.
Prosecutors only charged Valentine with burglary and possession of burglary tools, but detectives continued to investigate the robbery. That investigation led them right back to Valentine.
Earlier this year, prosecutors filed robbery charges against Valentine, saying he was the robber who took that master key from a 62-year-old mail carrier in the 10300 block of South Calumet in November last year.
Valentine approached her with his hands in his pockets and “forcefully demanded” her work keys, according to paperwork filed by prosecutors. The mail carrier surrendered her keys, bolted to her work truck, and locked herself inside. Prosecutors said he tried to open the truck and banged on its doors, but he eventually ran away. The postal worker identified him months later in a photo lineup.
Court records show Valentine has resolved both cases by pleading guilty to robbery and burglary. Valentine received a four-year sentence from Judge Aleksandra Gillespie, which he can reduce to two years with good behavior. After receiving credit for the time he spent on an ankle monitor pending trial, he is expected to be released on February 27, 2026.
Another sentencing
A remarkably prolific mail thief who faced 20 separate burglary and identity theft cases for allegedly stealing mail downtown and across the North Side has been given a nine-year sentence.
Jonathan Minter, 36, cut a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to five counts of burglary and two counts of identity theft, according to court records. The deal resulted in the dismissal of all other cases.
Prosecutors accused him of carrying out similar crimes in the 5900 block of North Lincoln, the 5800 block of North Clark, the 1100 block of West Ardmore, the 5600 block of North Broadway, the 5700 block of North Winthrop, and the 3800 block of North Fremont.
Last November, Minter allegedly used an arrow key or other device to circumvent the locks and remove mail and property from a building in the 4600 block of West Lawrence. We shared a video of that incident with you a few days later:
He struck again on December 16, stealing mail from the condos at 320 North Michigan, prosecutors alleged. On December 27, he allegedly used a U.S. Postal Service master key to enter a residential package room at 1801 South Michigan and tried to steal packages, another complaint said.
Prosecutors said he and an accomplice used postal service master keys to steal mail from a condo building in the 800 block of South Wells four times between July and September last year.
While many of those cases were pending, Minter stopped showing up for court and allegedly spent some of his free time stealing more mail and using some of his victims’ credit cards and IDs to enjoy hotel accommodations at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago Hotel and a Homewood Suites near the Magnificent Mile.
Judge Ursula Walowski handed him a two-year sentence for two counts of identity theft. Judge William Gamboney gave him seven years for five burglary cases. The sentences will be served consecutively, giving him an effective sentence of nine years. That will be cut in half for good behavior.
