LOS ANGELES, CA — A San Gabriel Valley man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to robbing two U.S. Postal Service mail carriers, using stolen keys to break into apartment mailboxes and assaulting federal officers who arrested him, prosecutors said.
Ruben Baca Lopez, 34, also known as "Monster" and "Loony," pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery of U.S. mail, money or other property using a dangerous weapon and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Lopez has been in federal custody since April 22.
Lopez approached a mail carrier sitting in a USPS delivery truck outside a Baldwin Park home in April 2024. Lopez told the carrier to "give him everything" and lifted his shirt to show a gun tucked into his waistband, prosecutors said.
Lopez took the carrier's smartphone, vehicle keys, a USPS-issued key and keys that provided access to apartment complexes in the area, according to prosecutors.
Over the following weeks, Lopez used the stolen keys to get into mailboxes and steal mail in the Baldwin Park area, prosecutors said.
In May 2024, Lopez robbed a second letter carrier who was placing mail inside a mailbox at an apartment complex. He entered the area using an apartment key stolen during the first robbery, according to prosecutors.
He took the second carrier's cellphone, wallet, smartwatch, USPS badge and two USPS-issued keys, prosecutors said.
Two weeks later, Lopez assaulted two U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspectors as they tried to arrest him. Lopez refused commands and fought with the inspectors, injuring one of them, prosecutors said.
At the time of his arrest, Lopez was carrying ammunition loaded in the chamber and magazine of a privately manufactured firearm without a serial number, commonly known as a "ghost gun," prosecutors said.
Lopez was prohibited from possessing ammunition because of previous felony convictions, including a 2020 Los Angeles Superior Court conviction for domestic violence and false imprisonment and a 2021 assault-related conviction. He also was convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in 2016.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett scheduled Lopez's sentencing hearing for Dec. 16.
He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison on each robbery count and up to 15 years in federal prison on the ammunition possession count.
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