California man sentenced for threatening to kill postal workers in U.S. Virgin Islands

A California man has been sentenced to eight months in prison for threatening to kill U.S. Postal Service employees in the U.S. Virgin Islands, federal prosecutors said. The threats stemmed from the alleged non-delivery of marijuana-containing packages.

On Friday, Simon Peters, 42, was sentenced to eight months in prison and 30 months of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty on February 18 to one count of making threats against public officials.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of the Virgin Islands said Peters called the Ottley Post Office in St. Thomas, USVI, on January 27, 2024, and issued multiple death threats toward a postal carrier.

Among the threats, Peters reportedly said: “Make sure the fat boy know, we’re watching him and next time we’re going to kill him behind the building” and “Any more packages from California go missing, you will see what happen to the co-workers dem … one by one.”

Two days later, Peters called again and continued making threats. When asked why he wanted to speak to the delivery driver, Peters said, “To let the people know what’s going on in the Virgin Islands. We got people driving around looking for him, and you gon hear him get gun shots in his [expletive] ass.” He also claimed to have been “doing this for over 10 years now.”

As a result of the threats, USPS temporarily suspended mail delivery to Kirwan Terrace for two days and brought in agents from other jurisdictions to escort carriers. A private security firm was also hired to provide additional protection at local post offices.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service tracked the calls to California, where Peters was located and arrested before being transferred to the Virgin Islands for prosecution. The investigation was led by USPIS with assistance from the FBI, DEA, HSI, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Virgin Islands Police Department.