article

Jose Federico-Flores, Jesse Hernandez, Christian Lara-Maldonado and True Serwin

MILWAUKEE – The last of four men convicted in connection with a pair of 2023 Milwaukee mail robberies he was sentenced to prison.

Court records show True Serwin, 19, was sentenced to eight years in prison. He pleaded guilty in June to two counts of armed robbery as part of a deal with prosecutors. He was also sentenced to 10 years of extended supervision.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Jose Federico-Flores, 18, was sentenced to four years in prison and four years of extended supervision. He reached a plea deal in March and was convicted of armed robbery and fleeing police.

In June, 19-year-old Jesse Hernandez reached a plea deal and was convicted of armed robbery and fleeing police. Court records show he was sentenced in August to six years in prison and five years of extended supervision.

Christian Lara-Maldonado was sentenced in August to seven years in prison and eight years of extended supervision, court records show. The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery in June, also part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

Mail robberies

According to a criminal complaint, each of the four men was involved in two armed robberies of postal workers on Nov. 6, 2023. Prosecutors said evidence shows all four were present and knew the robberies would be committed.

Hernandez provided a gun for both robberies, Serwin was the driver for both robberies, Lara-Maldonado admitted to directly participating in both robberies — and informed police that Federico-Flores directly participated in both robberies, according to the complaint.

The complaint went on to say that all four men were involved in selling a key stolen from a postal carrier and were all in the same car used to commit the robberies when the police pursuit began.

Near 12th and Holt

The complaint said the first armed robbery happened around 10:20 a.m. near 12th and Holt. The mail carrier told police he was delivering mail when he saw three people with guns. She said they all “grabbed” their guns and one of the suspects said, “Give me everything you got.”

The mail carrier then handed the suspect the cell phone and key to the USPS mail carrier, the complaint states. She said another suspect took her mail bag from her shoulder — which had some personal items — and the package scanner that was holstered on her hip. She stated that another suspect stood near the others but did not speak or take any items from her.

According to the complaint, the mail carrier also told police he saw the same suspect at the corner of 12th Street and Morgan “about five minutes before he was ‘robbed.’ She also provided descriptions of the suspects. Her phone was tracked and later recovered near 31st and Cleveland.

Near 48th and Euclid

The second armed robbery happened around 11:15 a.m. near 48th and Euclid, the complaint states. The mail carrier in this second robbery told police that three people, armed with guns, “purposefully” took a set of keys from his belt and a set of “Arrow Keys” from his bag while he was still in his van USPS.

The complaint said the mail carrier noticed three people sitting in a nearby alley and that they were “suspicious because they were wearing black hooded sweatshirts with their hoods up and black masks covering their mouths and noses in the hot weather.”

The mail carrier went on to say that two of the people had him at gunpoint while the third was standing behind him, according to the complaint. He said all three said, “Give up the arrow key!” The mail carrier told police he believed one of the guns was fake because it had a red tip.

An officer who was dispatched to the robbery saw three people running down a nearby alley as he approached the area, the complaint states.

The police chase ends near 30th and Cherry

Police pursuit

A few hours later, two other officers on patrol spotted a car leaving an alley that was suspected in one of the mail robberies. The complaint states that officers attempted to pull the car over, but the driver — later identified as Serwin — sped away. It sparked an 18-minute chase.

During the chase, the complaint said, Lara-Maldonado got out of the fleeing car in an alley and tried to escape on foot. He was arrested a short time later.

Three other people in the pursued car escaped from the vehicle near 30th and Cherry. The complaint said Hernandez was arrested in an alley after he tried to run, during which he dropped a gun. Serwin tried to run but was found hiding under a sheet of cardboard and arrested. A fourth passenger escaped.

When authorities searched the car, the complaint states they found several handguns, a Daisy BB rifle, a black mask and a single unfired round, among other identifying items.