ST. THOMAS — Simon Peters, a 41-year-old man from Valley Center, California, has been formally charged with making threats to kill postal workers in St. Thomas, announced United States Attorney Delia L. Smith on Thursday.
Peters was slated to make his initial court appearance before a federal magistrate judge in California on February 15 before being transported to St. Thomas for prosecution.
Court documents reveal that on January 27, 2024, Peters made a threatening telephone call to a United States Postal Service employee at the Ottley Post Office in St. Thomas. Expressing anger over a package that had not been delivered to the Kirwan Terrace Housing Community, Peters warned, “Make sure the fat boy know we’re watching him and next time we’re going to kill him behind the building.” He also threatened harm to postal workers if any further packages from California went missing, after providing the tracking number of his intercepted package, which was found to contain marijuana.
Peters escalated his threats on January 29, 2024, by contacting the Ottley Post Office again and seeking the Kirwan Terrace delivery driver, claiming he had people searching to kill the postal employee.
The United States Postal Inspection Service is leading the investigation into the threats, with Assistant United States Attorney Natasha L. Baker handling the prosecution.
United States Attorney Smith emphasized that a criminal complaint is only an allegation. All individuals are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and Peters will be given the full benefit of this presumption during his trial.
