Extra

LaMonte Earnest, a 13+ year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service, is facing false accusations of criminal threats and animal cruelty after a customer claimed he had kicked down his door, entered his home, and threatened to kill him. Mr. Earnest was taken into custody after the police determined he had an outstanding warrant for animal cruelty. That warrant, which Mr. Earnest was unaware existed, stemmed from a dog attack three years before while Mr. Earnest was delivering mail in Daly City. 

Mr. Earnest, who is black and an honorable veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard with no prior criminal record, was delivering mail to the 2600 block of Sacramento Street Saturday afternoon when he threw a package containing a heavy book on to the porch of [a resident]. The package hit the door and made a large bang. [The resident] who is white, exited his house wearing no shirt or shoes and accosted Mr. Earnest screaming at him about the package. Mr. Earnest believed that [rhe resident] was accusing him of damaging his door. 

Concerned that [the resident] would call his work and complain about damage, Mr. Earnest took two photographs of the door to show the lack of damage while standing on the sidewalk. He then continued with delivering mail. Unbeknownst to Mr. Earnest, [the resident] had already phoned 911 and falsely reported that Mr. Earnest had kicked in his door, filmed him, and threatened to kill him. The Berkeley Police Department arrived within a few minutes and detained Mr. Earnest, before arresting him on the outstanding warrant. 

Mr. Earnest had been charged with animal cruelty as a result of an incident 3 years prior when a dog owned by a white police officer lunged at his hand, while it was stuck in the mail slot at the dog's home. Mailmen have been known to lose fingers and suffer terrible injuries as a result of dogs biting their fingers through mail slots. On the USPS website, it says to make sure your dog cannot get within 3 feet of the mail slot to protect mailmen's fingers and keep your dog safe. 

Mr. Earnest employed his USPS issued "dog repellent" to repel the dog. The dog’s owner ran out of the house yelling "you black bastard" and other racially charged insults. Mr. Earnest called the police to report the incident. He never heard anything else about it, until he was arrested January 26, 2019. 

These are not the first false accusations Mr. Earnest has faced while delivering mail. Once, when Mr. Earnest was working late around the holiday season, someone called the police to report a suspicious black man walking quickly from house to house with a light on his head. Another time, a customer falsely accused him of wielding a knife. A lengthy investigation cleared Mr. Earnest of all wrongdoing. 

As a result of these false accusations, Mr. Earnest is now facing two separate criminal prosecutions (for criminal threats in Alameda County and animal cruelty in San Mateo), and is suspended from his job without pay. Mr. Earnest is a dedicated, veteran mail carrier who takes his job seriously and strives to be professional and efficient. Mr. Earnest lives in the same neighborhood where he is a carrier. He and his wife, attorney Kate Hallinan who grew up in the same West Berkeley neighborhood, have been together for 14 years, and have a three year old daughter. Mr. Earnest unequivocally denies all criminal allegations against him, and looks forward to the opportunity to clear his good name and restore his reputation which has been so terribly maligned.