"Because the mail never stops..."
Posted on 04/06/2006 6:30:33 AM PDT by Abathar
BAKER CITY, Ore. -- A postal employee accused of killing a co-worker behind the city post office first ran over the woman, then shot her several times after he tried to find his boss but couldn't, the county prosecutor said Wednesday.
Baker County District Attorney Matthew B. Shirtcliff said it was unclear whether Lori Hayes-Kotter died from being run over by letter carrier Grant Gallaher Tuesday afternoon or from shots allegedly fired by him.
However, Shirtcliff said the gunshot wounds "would have been fatal."
Gallaher, 41, had just finished his shift when he drove into the post office parking lot, Shirtcliff said.
According to the prosecutor, Hayes-Kotter was on foot and her car was nearby.
Gallaher struck her with the postal vehicle, went into the post office "looking to shoot the postmaster," couldn't find him, "comes back out, and shoots her at close range," Shirtcliff said.
He said "several rounds" were fired at Hayes-Kotter and into her car.
Shirtcliff refused to speculate on a possible motive.
"We're not going to get into that. That would be inappropriate at this point," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Neighbors said Gallaher seemed generally unhappy at work but was bragging last week that he'd gotten a new route.
"I've had conversations with other neighbors and even with people today at the hardware store that he never seemed very happy with work," said Tyler Brown. "But I don't know ... I'm still kind of shocked by the whole thing."
Gallaher was charged Wednesday afternoon with intentional murder and attempted aggravated murder. He was held without bail on the first count, and on $300,000 bail on the second at the Baker County Jail.
Gallaher has been a postal employee for 13 years and Hayes-Kotter for 17, the U.S. Postal Service said.
(Excerpt) Read more at theindychannel.com ...
Another reason to always smile while you wait on line at the post office.
An opening at the Baker City Post Office.
Been awhile since we've had a story about a postal worker going postal.
Wow! This guy's in big trouble. Doesn't he realize it's illegal to carry a gun on US Postal Service property?
That would be two openings.
WHAT IS IT WITH POSTAL WORKERS?????
You don't hear of anyone "Going IRS", "Going Social Security", "Going EEOC", "Going FBI", "Going Air Traffic Controller", etc, etc, etc.
If this happened in the private sector, say CPAs going on shooting rampages you can bet the rent the 'G' would be all over it. "Going Accountant" would have 97 gazillion gubmint studies/investigations following the 2nd occurrence.
It's not the sorting and delivering mail that is stressful. It's dealing with customers. They HATE to deal with customers. The only good part of the job is being allowed to be nasty to them.
I think you're right.
That being said, being the courteous vindictive person I am, when they do that - which is like 98.67% of the time, I'm nasty right back at them. And to really tick them off, most times I ask to see the manager, boss, whatever he's called.
I've also contacted the Postal Inspector filing formal charges that someone in my local PO is stealing mail. Since it was built about a decade ago, 'stuff' disappears. One small package arrived cut open with one item removed.
That being said, our regular mailman is fantastic, we've had him well over twenty years. And when we can, we give him Christmas cards with a little 'tip' inside for him. But he works with at least one thief.
Oops, you're right. Higher math isn't my strong suit.
I make a living selling on ebay. The USPS is a great partner in this endeavor.
Most people kvetching about the PO have no idea of the enormous undertaking it is to deliver mail 6 days a week to every single address in this country. It's a pity the rest of the federal goobermint isn't run half as well.
If you've every shipped international, you'd know how great and cost effective our PO system is compared to absolutely every other one on the planet.
This happened close enough that I know that most of the postal workers I deal with knew the killer and victim. I am sincerely sorry for their loss.
One of these days, I'm going to go Freeper!
Global Corporate Socialists again.
"Because the mail never stops..."
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