PORTLAND — A New Jersey man Wednesday denied charges stemming from the robberies of two U.S. postal carriers and burglaries of two U.S. post offices in central Maine.
Lance Funderburk, 31, of Orange, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to five charges in U.S. District Court.
A federal grand jury indicted Funderburk on March 20 of conspiracy to rob U.S. postal carriers and burglarize U.S. post offices, as well as two counts of burglary of a U.S. post office.
Each of those three charges is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Funderburk also was charged with two counts of robbery of a U.S. postal carrier; each count is punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
He is in federal custody pending trial, which U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Karen Frink Wolf said is scheduled for May 6.
Investigators said Funderburk and an accomplice, Winston O. McLeod, 31, of Auburn, robbed two letter carriers in Lewiston and burglarized post offices in Paris and North Monmouth in January.
McLeod pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the same charges in the same federal courtroom.
Funderburk was arrested Jan. 22 in Rumford in connection with the alleged burglaries and robberies.
On Jan. 20, postal inspectors were notified of the armed robberies of two postal carriers just minutes apart in Lewiston, according to an affidavit sworn by Emily Spera, a U.S. postal inspector and spokesperson for the United States Postal Service’s Boston Division.
Neither carrier was injured during the alleged robberies, Spera said.
The first robbery happened at 20 Davis St., Lewiston; the second at 480 Main St., Lewiston, Spera wrote in her affidavit.
Both carriers were threatened with knives, she wrote.
The robbers demanded keys from the carriers, she wrote.
Later, during a vehicle search, police recovered several checks written to different recipients, evidence believed to be related to the burglaries and robberies.
Entry into the Paris Post Office was made through a window under which investigators found two cellphones in the snow, Spera wrote.
One of the phone’s lock screen had an image of a man and a woman. Using facial recognition software, analysts were able to determine the man in the image was McLeod.
Later, during a search of a vehicle in which Funderburk was hiding, police found evidence linking him to the crimes, including work gloves, lighters, Vaseline, assorted keys (including those stolen in the robberies), a key fob, a black multitool, $1,005 in cash, a black matte butterfly knife and four cellphones, Spera wrote.
During a body cavity search of Funderburk, officers found two postal keys, Spera wrote.
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