Police nab man charged with shooting, beating postal worker in Ashmont; third accomplice may still be at large

Boston Police report the Youth Violence Strike Force and postal inspectors took Keyon Taylor, 21, into custody around 1:20 a.m. on Blue Hill Avenue.

Meanwhile, an affidavit by a postal inspector working on the case suggests the investigation is not over - after the attack, police found Taylor's alleged driver and another man in the van from which Taylor allegedly jumped out of on Bailey Street to try to rob the postal worker.

Police found Maurice Williams Miner-Gittens and the third man in the white U-Haul van at a Sunoco station at Washington Street and Gallivan Boulevard about four hours after the Dec. 20 incident. The van, the affidavit says, reeked of marijuana. Both were taken down to C-11 for questioning - and read their rights - but allowed to go. Miner-Gittens, of Dorchester, was arrested last week; the third man has not been charged to date.

According to the affidavit by Inspector Michael Connelly, Miner-Gittens' cell-phone history shows two calls only minutes after the attack to the third man, identified only as "Cam" and "XC."

Not long after, "Cam" sent Miner-Gittens a text message, asking where Taylor was. Taylor and "Cam" are alleged associates of the Corbet Street gang, a relatively minor outfit whose members hang out along Morton Street; while Miner-Gittens had been living with Taylor at Taylor's parents' home in Attleboro, Connelly writes.

The affidavit says Miner-Gittens and Taylor drove the van, which Miner-Gittens rented the night before in Brockton, behind the mail truck. Taylor then allegedly got out, jumped into the mail truck, pointed a gun at the postal worker and demanded "the drawer" - a drawer full of money and stamps that letter carriers often ride around with in rural areas, but which, it turns out, Boston postal workers never have.

During this initial confrontation, the assailant immediately pointed a firearm at the victim's head. The victim stated he was in fear for his life and afraid the assailant would shoot him in the head. He therefore tried to push the barrel of the gun away and tried to push the assailant back out of the Postal vehicle. At that point, the assailant shot the victim in his right wrist. The victim stated that after being shot in the wrist, he complied with his assailant's orders as he was in fear for his life.

After he was shot, the victim was struck repeatedly by the assailant using both the pistol and his shod feet. As a result, the victim was bleeding from multiple injuries to his head and other areas of his body. He was ordered into the rear of the Postal truck and told to strip off his uniform, which he did. He turned over the USPS uniform, to include his pants and a vest, to the attacker as well as his wallet, cell phone and keys. The suspect ordered the letter carrier to lie face down in the rear of the vehicle and told him not to look up or he would be killed. The assailant went towards the front of the truck but returned a second later after he saw the letter carrier glance in his direction. The assailant resumed kicking the letter carrier and told him repeatedly that he would kill him.

Connelly continues that Taylor drove the truck around the corner, then got out and ran away. Meanwhile, nearby residents heard the postal worker's cries for help and came out - one woman sheltered him in her car until EMTs and police arrived.

Once on scene, police followed Taylor's boot prints in the snow through several backyards on Clermont and Fuller streets. Behind 49 Fuller, police found the postal worker's bloody uniforms, keys and phone in a blue recycling bin. Nearby, they found a purple glove, covered in what appeared to be blood. Later testing linked the blood to Taylor's DNA in a federal database; he apparently sliced his hand open climbing over a fence in his escape.

Connelly writes that during questioning after the gas-station stop, Miner-Gittens admitted to driving the van and acknowledged he parked right behind the mail truck, but, of course, denied having anything to do with the attack. "Cam" denied being in the van at the time of the attack.

Both Taylor and Miner-Gittens face charges of conspiracy, kidnapping a federal employee and assault on a federal employee.

Innocent, etc.