Baltimore man sentenced for illegally possessing weapon and postal service key

A Baltimore man has been sentenced on an illegal firearm charge as well as for possessing a key used for conducting official postal service business. 

A judge sentenced 24-year-old Shykeem Fallin to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland said Wednesday. 

The sentence came after Fallin was convicted for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person and possession of a stolen key used by the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Court documents show that a detective from the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) observed Fallin remotely on a camera monitoring activity on the street.

At one point, police said Fallin was seen approaching a parked vehicle and talking with individuals inside the car. Court records indicate the detective also observed Fallin adjusting an object in the front waistband of his pants, and later pulling out a black handgun that he held by his side. 

After the vehicle left, Fallin was seen by the detective putting the firearm back in his pants and getting into his own vehicle. At that point, police officers approached to arrest him. When asked, Fallin denied having a weapon. But police discovered the handgun and 12 rounds of ammunition hidden under the driver's seat.

In addition, officers conducting the vehicle search also found Fallin in possession of a USPS Arrow Key, which fell from the driver's side visor onto the driver's seat. 

An Arrow Key is a government-issued master key that gives postal carriers access to cluster box units, blue collection boxes and other USPS-secured mail infrastructure, said a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's office. "Upon further investigation, law enforcement learned that the recovered Arrow Key was stolen from a postal carrier on Feb. 3," the statement added.