A Buffalo man convicted of assaulting a federal employee and causing bodily injury was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara imposed the sentence on 34-year-old Jacob D. Ortiz, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
The conviction stemmed from a Sept. 9, 2025, attack on a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier delivering mail on Columbus Avenue in South Buffalo.
Federal prosecutors said the carrier approached a residential mailbox and saw Ortiz on the front porch. Without warning or provocation, Ortiz came down the steps, lunged at the carrier and tackled the victim to the ground, the office said.
Ortiz then repeatedly punched the carrier in the face, head and midsection as the victim used their hands to shield their face, according to the federal account.
Prosecutors said Ortiz briefly stopped before charging at the carrier a second time. The carrier fled, and Ortiz chased the victim but was unable to catch up.
The carrier reached safety but suffered a bump on the back of the head, several contusions to the head and face, and bruises and scrapes on the elbows and knees, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Ortiz was convicted of assaulting a federal employee resulting in bodily injury. The release did not provide the date of his conviction or say how much time he had served before sentencing.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division investigated the case under Acting Inspector-in-Charge Justin Page. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen M. McCarthy prosecuted it.
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