A San Jose man has pleaded guilty to robbing and violently assaulting a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, federal prosecutors said Tuesday, in a case that could lead to decades behind bars.
Robert Cordova, 49, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of robbery of a mail carrier and one count of assaulting a federal employee, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
A federal grand jury indicted Cordova in January 2025. As part of his plea, prosecutors said, he acknowledged entering a USPS mail truck intending to steal mail. When a letter carrier confronted him, Cordova punched the worker in the face, knocking him to the ground, and then continued striking him “several times in the face and head.”
Cordova is scheduled to be sentenced June 2 before a U.S. District Court judge. He faces up to 25 years in prison for the robbery charge and up to 20 years for the assault charge, along with potential fines of up to $250,000 for each count.
Postal workers are considered federal employees, and assaults against them are prosecuted under federal law.