Man shoots mail carrier because he was upset over stimulus check

[left-of-center2012]

A U.S. postal carrier is dead after reportedly being shot by a man on her route following disagreements about withheld mail including stimulus checks and an aggressive dog, according to multiple media outlets.

The president of the local mail carriers union in Indianapolis says Angela Summers was shot after a person inside a home she delivers mail to had not received their stimulus check, according to WXIN. Tony Cushingberry, 21, was charged Wednesday with “second-degree murder, assaulting a federal employee and discharging a firearm during a crime, according to court documents filed Wednesday,” the Indianapolis Star reported.

Summers, 45, was shot while delivering mail Monday afternoon in Indianapolis, according to the Indianapolis Star. During the confrontation, Summers sprayed Cushingberry with mace before he shot her, the Star reported.

Summers, the mother of a teenage daughter, outlined in a Facebook post last week that a family on her route threatened her and demanded their mail. Summers said their mail was being withheld because of an aggressive dog at the residence.

“The dog is a nasty devil that I’ve actually had to spray — twice,” Summers wrote in a Facebook post two days before the shooting. She added that mail at the residence, which included two stimulus checks, was halted until they sign a letter about keeping their dog away while she making her deliveries.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article242396511.html

[hlthe2b]

1. OMG...

this is horrible

[Hortensis]

2. Poor woman. Her killer must have come out and intercepted

her since she wasn't delivering to his house, but her mace didn't save her. And he's 21. Tragedy.

[Goodheart]

3. jeeezus fucking christ

Tony Cushingberry should be tortured before executed. I'm fucking sick of fucking assholes.

[sarisataka]

7. Tortured then executed...

Do we even need to bother a judge?

[Guilded Lilly]

4. ... beyond tragic.

[Aristus]

5. Second-degree murder?

He had a gun.

He had a motive.

He shot her deliberately.

How is that not first-degree murder?

[sarisataka]

8. It seems a good case could be made

For first degree

[whopis01]

17. This is very early and charges often change along the way.

It also makes for a better story / better optics if the prosecutor comes back later and says "upon further investigation we have decided to increase the charges..." as opposed to "we have decided to drop the charges to...". Looking like you overcharged and backed off can garner sympathy for the defendant.

I am sure that they are following their standard procedure / strategy at this point.

[Aristus]

19. I hadn't thought of that.

That makes sense.

Inflating the charge to make the actual crime seem not so bad was parodied by MAD Magazine back in the 70's.

The Wrong Way:

"Dad, I'm at the police station. I got busted for possession."

"Rot in jail for all I care, hophead!" *click*

The Right Way:

"Dad, I'm in jail. They're trying to pin a charge of murder, arson, and kidnapping on me! They're trying to make me a patsy!"

"What? They can't do that to my son!"

"Maybe if you come down to the station, you can talk them into reducing the charge to possession."

"I'll be right over!"

[whopis01]

30. LMAO. Perfect example! n/t

[Smackdown2019]

38. Offended

This nothing to laugh about. Families and coworkers could read your statement and not find it funny. Please respect those who knew her. I do not know her, but I do wear the uniform.

[whopis01]

43. I am laughing at a Mad Magazine joke

that is unrelated to the horrible shooting.

If that offends you, so be it.

[Smackdown2019]

45. Be more considerate

I was referring you to give respect to the families and friends of the deceased! It's not proper to laugh on a disheartening trend that announces a death of a tragic nature.

[whopis01]

50. Your offense is duly noted. n/t

[npk]

48. The mail carrier maced the suspect before he shot her

Had the mail carrier not been shot and lived she would have most likely been arrested for assault. Mail carrier escalated incident by pepper spraying the suspect, therefore I doubt a first degree murder charge will ever stick. Mail carrier should have just drove away since apparently this feud has been going on for a while, at least according to stories that I read.

[kcr]

51. I don't think so

I highly doubt she would have been arrested for making the guy who's mail had to be withheld and had been harassing her. The fact he ended up shooting her kind of backs that up. It was clearly self defense.

[DBoon]

6. One saying about dogs that I find very true

Last edited Thu Apr 30, 2020, 02:37 PM - Edit history (1)

"personality travels down the leash"

[Mendocino]

37. Yes

"I don't dislike pit bulls, but I don't particularly like pit bull owners."

Heard that one before.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

9. This is so very sad.

Every day it's a new kind of crazy. My thoughts are with Angela Summers' daughter and all her loved her.

[Lock him up.]

36. Orange-menace country, Indiana...

Batsh!t-crazy and armed bullies with guns...

Education, none.

[Dem2]

10. Idiot murderer will have time to think about his temper in jail

[SheltieLover]

11. Well, we know how this murderer votes

🤬🤬🤬

[Tipperary]

13. Well, he is a black man.

I have read on du that AA folks vote Democratic?

[LanternWaste]

44. unsurprising you'd try this

Any other cards to play?

[Tipperary]

46. Excuse me? The murderer is a black man.

That’s a fact. I think you have shown your cards dear.

As you always do.

[jimfields33]

21. And how is that?????

[sarisataka]

33. How does he vote, please do tell

And if it's not too much bother, how did you determine his voting preferences?

[cwydro]

49. Do we?

Did you read the link?

[onethatcares]

12. all he had to do was sign

a letter and keep the dog in the house for whatever amount of time it took to get his check.

Will he get that check while in jail?

I wonder if he's been in the system before.

[MissMillie]

39. this!!!

We have 4 dogs that behave w/ a "pack mentality." They feel threatened by anything not a part of their "pack," including the mail carrier.

If the dogs are outside when the mail comes, I don't expect the carrier to come up to the porch to put it in the box. I meet the carrier at the curb.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

14. Holy crap, that's ridiculous!

Sign the form and restrain the animals! Nooo, you had to kill the woman instead!

I worked with a former mail carrier who still had multiple scars from being attacked by a German Shepherd that someone on his route didn’t properly restrain. The pepper spray only worked the first time. He’d heard it wouldn’t stop the same dog twice, after the dog learned from the first experience, and that proved to be correct during the second attack. The dog burst through a screen door that time, and the owner then silently watched at the door according to that guy as he yelled for help. He finally picked up the dog and body-slammed it, apparently breaking its leg. Then it yelped and hobbled back to the house, with the owner closing the door behind it. That house was then banned from deliveries.

[bucolic_frolic]

18. I don't understand why dogs are more important than people

There are ferocious dogs in my neighborhood. We have leash laws, or at least control laws. The police aren't interested, unless the dog barks all night. Seems like you can't do anything about it until the dog attacks you. What kind of freedom is that? You live in fear, you're being terrorized, at least in your mind. I think the state makes too much money from animal licenses, that's why they look the other way.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

27. A lot of the owners are inconsiderate as heck.

Their dogs LOVE them, a LOT, so they’re obviously little angels.

My parents had dogs from the time I was born, but I quickly realized those dogs could be dangerous to people outside of our family “pack”.

And I certainly didn’t think somebody was bad just because our dogs growled or barked at them. Another common MYTH that I’ve read is that animals are great judges of character in that regard.

[nykym]

15. guess his mail will be going to a different

address for a while.

[AdamGG]

24. Permanently

[cayugafalls]

16. So sad.

I am at a loss for words. This is just incredibly wrong.

Just sad.

[keithbvadu2]

20. Shoot the messenger, literally.

Shoot the messenger, literally.

No temp insanity for him.

No extenuating circumstances.

No suspended sentence.

[Traildogbob]

22. He needs some MSB torture

Slowly sawed up and fed to that dog. Make him watch the dog eat his extremities while dying. See what socialistic gubment checks do to a society. (Do I need to state “Sarcasm” here? Peepul suck. The virus is every other species on earth saying, “enough of you idiots, now get, go one now get!”

[Mosby]

23. Poor woman.

It's situations like this that make me reconsider my objections to the death penalty.

[Jarqui]

25. Heart wrenching waste - a daughter loses her mother over this ...nt

[Midnight Writer]

26. This man still could have got his mail. His mail was not withheld. His home delivery was stopped.

All he had to do was go to the Post Office and pick up his mail.

This is a common issue for the Postal Service and they have procedures in place to handle it.

[generalbetrayus]

28. This clown needs to be put away forever.

A linked story said the household had been warned THREE times about an aggressive dog. Back in the late 70s, my mail stopped arriving with NO warning. I went to the local post office and was told my mail was being withheld because a neighbor had her dog tied up outside her patio fence, next to the front door of my townhouse unit. That dog was never aggressive to me when it was tied up there. In any event, I asked the neighbor to keep her dog inside the patio fence during the day, which she did, and my mail delivery resumed. Also, I was able to pick up my held mail at the post office. I'm sure this clown could have gone to his post office and picked up the checks if they were needed so badly.

[3Hotdogs]

29. This is a federal offense. They aren't gonna play games.

[planetc]

31. give mail carriers chocolate

I started doing this a couple of years ago at Christmas--a few small boxes of chocolate in my mail box, with a label and card. Now I get a Christmas card from the mailman, and a thank you note afterward. I put out a couple of Lindt candy bars earlier in April just because they do their jobs and I almost never get to see them to say thanks. In my experience, a little chocolate goes a long way.

[oasis]

40. Cash in a simple Xmas card more appreciated. Carriers can have 400

to 600 delivery points. I'm a retired carrier. Each year I had more candy that my family and I could eat or give away.

On the subject of dogs: In my day, the local postmaster/station manager would contact the owner and warn them that not only their mail would be curtailed, but nearby neighbor's mail would also.
All mail would have to be picked up at the Post Office until dog problem was corrected. Neighbors would be notified in advance before any stoppage of home delivery took place.

[planetc]

41. Cash and chocolate! Never occurred to me!

But what's a "delivery point"? That's how many boxes you stuff mail into? I have no objection to disbursing cash either.

[oasis]

42. For the purposes of drawing up delivery routes within a postal

zip code, the number of delivery points or "stops" must be taken into account so each carrier can complete his/her deliveries in eight hours.

Every three or four years, route adjustments are made within postal zones where major changes like the opening of housing sub-divisions add to the number of stops.

[cwydro]

47. Absolutely. I give my mail carriers gift cards.

I do the same for the guys that pick up waste and recycling.

Way too hot to give out candy here in NC. I don’t care for chocolate or candy myself, and you never know if someone is diabetic...but gift cards make everyone happy!

[JI7]

32. so fucked up. he just wanted tho shoot someone

[superpatriotman]

34. Assholes everywhere

With guns and dogs, too.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. The headline is a bit misleading.

It should read: man refuses to restrain aggressive dog and has his mail delivery suspended. Rather than going to the post office to collect his mail, he decided to murder the carrier.

Yeah, so he hadn't gotten his stimulus check, although it's possible it's in his held mail.