Wilber Castellanos Hernandez, a 33-year-old undocumented Mexican citizen, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison following his guilty plea for carjacking a U.S. Postal Service truck and threatening the postal employee involved.
U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow also imposed a 36-month supervised release period on Hernandez and ordered him to pay $2,828.89 in restitution for damage caused to the postal vehicle and missing equipment.
The incident occurred on February 5, 2024, when Hernandez stole the postal vehicle in Salt Lake City. According to court documents and statements from hearings, he admitted entering the truck after checking its door handle. When confronted by the postal employee, Hernandez brandished a knife before fleeing. Law enforcement tracked him using GPS technology and subsequently arrested him.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service alongside an FBI Task Force Officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Esqueda of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that combines efforts from various levels of law enforcement with community involvement to reduce violent crime and gun violence, aiming to create safer neighborhoods. The Department launched an enhanced violent crime reduction strategy under PSN on May 26, 2021, emphasizing principles such as building trust within communities, supporting violence prevention organizations, prioritizing strategic enforcement actions, and measuring outcomes.
