A Boston woman pleaded guilty Armed robbery of US Postal Service carriers in Mattapan and Hyde Park.

Myesha Lewis, 22, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Boston to multiple charges related to her role in the Mattapan robbery on Nov. 29, 2022, and the Hyde Park robbery on Dec. 16, 2022. According to court documents, he was an accomplice of the getaway driver and accomplice Kenneth Demosthene. sentenced to three years in prison a week ago.

Prosecutors say Lewis and Demosthene stole two letter carriers’ “Arrow” keys that unlock blue USPS letter boxes lined up around the city. Boxes have long been the target of thieves who “hunt” the letters inside with tools or, more appropriately, steal the letter carriers’ master keys. The goal is to score the checks in the envelopes.

The Postal Inspection Service noted an increase in “mailbox fishing” in Massachusetts between 2016 and 2021. The USPS responded to this type of fishing with toughened boxes, but this led to a spike in robberies of letter carriers.

There have been “at least” 23 attacks on mail carriers in Boston and surrounding communities since July 2022, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. It was stated that 15 of these robbers were armed with knives, guns or both.

Court records do not show that Lewis and Demosthene were armed in their previous robbery in Mattapan, but do indicate that the second robbery was committed at knifepoint.