District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced charges today against Khaheem Pharr, 22, of Chester, in connection with an assault on a postal worker on July 1, 2023. The charges include solicitation of murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats, and related firearms charges.
“Since the earliest days of the postal service, the safety and security of mail carriers has been of paramount importance. Our system for distributing mail cannot function unless carriers feel confident about their physical safety. That is why today’s charges are so important: we want to remind the community that we have a zero tolerance for threatening behavior directed at mail carriers, and we will prosecute bad actors to the fullest extent of the law,” said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
On July 1, 2023, Khaheem Pharr engaged in a violent verbal altercation with a postal carrier who was on his route delivering mail. The mail carrier attempted to leave the scene multiple times, but was repeatedly blocked from exiting by the defendant. When the mail carrier succeeded in leaving the scene, the defendant followed him, while yelling obscenities. The defendant continued to try and engage the victim and motioned for him to join the him in an alley adjacent to the store. The mail carrier remained in his USPS delivery vehicle, and called the Chester Post Office for assistance. The defendant yelled to the mail carrier that, “You gonna die” multiple times. Before help arrived, a friend of Pharr’s joined the defendant at the scene, armed with a firearm and an extended magazine. In full view of the mail carrier, Pharr asked for the handgun, though his friend kept the gun partially hidden inside his jacket with the extended magazine visible. As the mail carrier attempted to leave the scene, the defendant punched in the passenger side window of the USPS delivery vehicle, causing over $300 in damage and further terrifying the mail carrier. The Chester City Police and United States Postal Inspectors both responded to the incident.
“I want to thank the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office and the Chester City Police Department for their assistance in investigating and charging of Khareem Pharr with the attempted murder of a mail carrier in Chester City last summer,” said Christopher Nielsen, the Postal Inspector in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the Postal Inspection Service. “Postal Letter Carriers go about their duty in all neighborhoods across this region, delivering millions of packages and letters every day and should do so without the threat of physical violence. Citizens should know that the Postal Inspection Service, along with our partners in local law enforcement, take the safety of Postal employees seriously, and we will work tirelessly to hold accountable those who threaten their safety and wellbeing.”
Bail was set at $500,000 cash, and the defendant was committed to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 1, 2024.
CRIMINAL CHARGES, AND ANY DISCUSSION THEREOF, ARE ALLEGATIONS AND ALL DEFENDANTS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNLESS AND UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
The District Attorney and the Criminal Investigation Division remind anyone in Delaware County who observes suspicious activity to call 911 immediately and provide the most specific and accurate details possible to assist law enforcement agencies investigating the call for service.
For more information contact Margie McAboy, Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, 610-579-0429.