OXFORD, Miss. (WJTV) – Three Batesville men were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for the armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service contract carrier.

According to court documents, Jamarr Smith, 38, Gilbert McThunel II, 37, and Thomas Iroko Ayodele, 40, were each convicted on February 24, 2023.

During the trail, evidence showed the three men drove to Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, in February 2018 and robbed the Postal Service’s contract carrier as he picked up mail for delivery to the Distribution Center in Memphis.

Prosecutors said McThunel approached the carrier, struck him multiple times in the face with a firearm, threatened to kill him and stole bags containing U.S. Postal Service money from the carrier’s truck. Ayodele dropped McThunel off at the Lake Comorant Post Office prior to the robbery and picked him up afterward, while Smith acted as a lookout from a separate vehicle.

At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, District Court Judge Sharion Aycock sentenced Smith and McThunel each to 121 months in prison and Ayodele to 136 months in prison. Each defendant will serve five years of supervision following their release from prison. 

The defendants were also ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Postal Service for the money taken in the robbery and to the contract carrier for medical costs associated with injuries he received during the robbery.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.