BATON ROUGE - A key that grants unfettered access to an undisclosed number of mailboxes in the Baton Rouge area was stolen by armed robbers after they followed a letter carrier on his delivery route in Sherwood Meadows. 

"I've seen the postman a couple of times ride through here. He comes, delivers the mail. The mail comes on time," one neighbor said. 

The victim told police he was attacked about 4 p.m. on June 16 on Hermadel Drive off Old Hammond Highway, according to a search warrant filed in the case.

"It's a little nerve-wracking. Normally, this is a safe, quiet neighborhood," another neighbor said. 

The mailman said a vehicle tailed him through the neighborhood and then swooped in front of him and stopped. Two masked men with guns jumped out. They demanded the key that "opens all of the mailboxes," and one robber shoved his gun into the mailman's ribs, the warrant said.

That robber also demanded his wallet but the other robber said they should get away quickly, so they sped away in the waiting vehicle.

Police told WBRZ July 13 three arrests had been made for the robbery: 26-year-old Deajon Dobbins, 21-year-old Denzel Jackson, and 26-year-old Dashun Larkin. The three men were booked on charges including armed robbery and felony theft. BRPD worked with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in the investigation.

A fourth arrest, 32-year-old Vincent Geans, was made Sept. 20.

Another post office employee was targeted in a similar robbery last year, which led to a wave of check thefts from mailboxes which, in turn, led to hundreds of instances of bank fraud.