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McDavid Postmaster Arrested On Sexual Assault, False Imprisonment Charges
March 3, 2011
The McDavid postmaster has been arrested on attempted sexual battery and false imprisonment charges. Both charges are felonies.
James Bruce Lee, 51, of Cantonment, was booked into the Escambia County Jail Wednesday afternoon on two outstanding state warrants served by the United States Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. He was released on $6,000 bond, according to jail records.
According to Postal Inspector Michael Mulder, the charges stemmed from a January 15 incident that allegedly took place inside the McDavid Post Office. A female mail carrier alleged that Lee attempted to sexually assault her inside the Main Street building.
According to the arrest warrant, the woman alleged Lee approached her from behind while she was sorting mail and began touching her all over her body. She told him to stop, at which time he complied. Later in the day, after the other carriers had left the building, Lee once again approached the carrier holding her by her hands while pulling his pants down, the carrier told investigators, before stopping when he heard a vehicle in the post office parking lot.
Lee provided a sworn written statement and interview to postal investigators, however his statements were not released by the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Lee, who has served as McDavid postmaster since January, 2005, has been place on administrative leave, according to Joseph Breckenridge, a postal service spokesman based in Atlanta.
Comments
67 Responses to “McDavid Postmaster Arrested On Sexual Assault, False Imprisonment Charges”
They have this guy on video doing what he did. They had enough reason to install survelilance in that place. Don’t make the excuse that he was always nice to you. Ted Bundy was nice to all of his victims. That’s how he got them to go with them. Do you think in order for him to be guilty he should expose himself to everyone he meets? Look at all the priest. How many people can and will say they were nice to them? I’m sure it sickens anyone who has been a victim of psycho behavior like this. Yeah he was nice to you but he was not to her.
REGARDING:
“unfortunately in these types of cases, you have to prove your innocence instead of what our founding fathers set up our judicial system for. Innocent until proven guilty is what it should and is”
Legally, there is no need to prove innocence since that is legally assumed. Socially, it would help if neighbors were convinced it never happened. It’s one thing to not be convicted in a court of law, it’s another to retain the respect and trust of others.
Most of us don’t know the man or whoever his accuser is. We will soon forget it ever came up–no matter how it is settled.
David considering legal versus social situations
Let me just say that I strongly believe that these allegations are false. Like a previous post by someone else, unfortunately in these types of cases, you have to prove your innocence instead of what our founding fathers set up our judicial system for. Innocent until proven guilty is what it should and is. For those of you all who are instantly wanting to convict, place your feet in his or someone elses shoes who has been accused of something like this. I bet you wouldn’t like the feeling either. Remember we are all human and unfortunately there are a lot of false claims of this type of nature, which unfortunately takes away from the “real” cases where this happens. Just because someone is arrested by an allegation doesn’t make them guilty. They are just meeting the lowest form of information necessary to make the arrest based on the accusers statement. The SAO decides whether to file charges or not based on the initial investigation and evidence at hand. Hopefully they will see that during this man’s career and dealings with countless women in the work place, the allegations are false and no such prior allegations were made. Her allegations sound fishy not the bond amount, which is right based on the standards used by the courts and jails.
There are soooo many issues here. He said / she said is rubbish! There is an allegation. Regardless of whether it is true or not, it MUST be taken seriously. This investigation was launched in January….they have done their research. There was enough evidence to incarerate. Whether there will be enough to prosecute or acquit will not be decided any time soon. Whether he was a good man, kind man, friendly, helpful, etc., is not the question. Remember, the BTK killer lived a “normal” life for over a decade before getting caught. You just never know. The woman, I read in another post, was considered a “loon.” Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Not the issue. She could be the worst person in the world and he STILL could have done something wrong.
The final settlement, after appeals, representation, etc., could be over a year away. Someone said that his name and address should not be given. If a year passes between the day he was charged and the day he must face his settlement, and his name was never given or picture shared….what if he were able to assault someone else?!
Granted, the press jumps on stories like these for the sensationalism. But the reason the accused is published is for transparency. I only wish that the press would follow the case through and give the news when someone is found “not guilty” as often as when they find them “guilty.”
Finally….and here is the scariest part of all…..regardless of guilt or innocence…. the union or postal inspectors, or lawyers, or investigators, or the accused or the accusor …..any one of them at any point along the way could share something that makes or breaks the case against the accused. A settlement could be reached. A guilty person could walk away free and clear if enough evidence is not substantiated. An innocent person may settle for a lesser charge simply because of how weak or strong his case may be.
You will never know what really happened. What is settled is not always what took place. Fortunately, the USPS Inspection Service is a top knotch investigative group….I hope both the accused and the accusor are able to find peace.
This man has always been friendly and helpful in the dozens of times I have done business with him. In fact, I can say that I have witnessed him do favors over and above what was required by his job. Before folks start hollering for a rope, let’s wait to see what direction this goes in.
low bond is not unusual when someone is not considered a flight risk.He won’t run cause he’s not quilty.the female character has the reputation of being a loony and all the locals know it.Jim would never get hard up enough to even breathe on her!
Just find it interesting that several people think his picture should not be included here. I’ve never heard that though expressed for anyone else.
If she is telling the truth her life will never be the same. thats not something that just goes away. And if he just walks free she will know that he is still out there in harms way of everyother women out there.. Does anyone Think about what she is going through???
DO NOT JUDGE HER SHE IS PROBABLY TELLING THE TRUTH,. I HAVE WORKED FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE FOR TEN YEARS AND HAVE WORKED WITH JIM LEE SEVERAL TIMES. ALTHOUGH HE DIDNT GO THAT FAR HE WENT FAR ENOUGH. AND THE POSTAL INSPECTORS WOULD NOT GO AS FAR AS HAVIN HIM PUT IN JAIL IF THEY DIDNT HAVE HARD EVIDENCE. BE STRONG GIRL JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL……..
i am sorry i should have said some of you. i see not all think he did it are is waiting to hear the whole story . yes i would like to see him proven Innocent but his rep.will never over come this. and this disgruntled employee will just go on with her life as it never happen. it just not fair to put someone out there like this with just he said /she said info.
>>>> It would be a great idea if William and northescambia.com had a follow up to the articles of big interest.
And we do. I try to follow almost every arrest story we run for an outcome. Sometimes that takes months or even years. It takes a lot of resources to track all of the court cases, so I do miss a few. This one we will follow.
It would be a great idea if William and northescambia.com had a follow up to the articles of big interest. Then if this is proven to be fabricated in any way at least his name would be cleared. If guilty, we could keep up with sentencing and due process.
Don’t Know:
I agree. The innocent AND the guilty here need our prayers. I, too, believe it is wrong to name and picture those who have no criminal record and who have a good reputation. This should not be made public until there is substantial witnesses and / or evidence. This is just wrong. Repeat offenders are a different story. The law should hold back giving out names, places and pictures for a while in situations like this.
To “Get The Truth”……No, read these posts again. We are not ALL talking as if he really did this. I think for the most part people just want to have the truth come out. I think most people would prefer to have it proven that he didn’t. I know I would prefer that.
you know, you all are talking as if he really did this! its her word over his!her story just is not right . he has a great rep. she is well known to be not so good. [crazy person is what most call her] something is not right a mans life is being messed up before his eyes by the net and news. this is wrong!!! he is a good man we all know him in our little town .she on the other hand is well know by most [crazy lady] well before all this came about. why did she not tell some of the other mail people in the room when he suposable touched her the 1st time? that room is not that big for all that to be happening and no one eles see it.why did she stay when every one else left if she felt he would try again. we have really good people in our post office they would not turn thier heads on something like that. stay strong JIM you are in my prayers
I am no longer shocked by anything anymore. It just goes on and on and on
how humans act like dogs. I have had a lot of people disappointment over
my life. I have also had a lot that amazed me in good positive ways.
One thing I have learned about people they don’t advertise the bad things
they think about.
DO YOU? The main thing you do is never ever act on them.
That’s called being a responsible adult.
Yes, that would be a real fete to be holding her by her hands while pulling his pants down.
If she is being untruthful, I do hope this man is exhonerated in every way. It’s scary, not to mention so horribly wrong to be falsely accused of anything, much less something like this.
wow why are some people so quick to jump at who is right and who is wrong. Remember what Jesus said: He who is without sin should cast the first stone. R u without sin?????????? Just remember we dont know the whole story. It will unfold and we should all listen and not point the finger at anyone, u wasnt there and neither was I so just let it be told in what the Inspectors find and not the media. Who gave them the green flag to ruin this mans life, God help us all and we should be praying this is not true for either one of them. I know this man and I know her as well, and the truth will set her free. Stay strong Jim and dont let all this negativity get you down.
Does anyoine know if her was a carrier in Cantonment along Muscogee Road years ago?
Don’t Know:
The article didn’t say he exposed himself. It said: “Lee once again approached the carrier holding her by her hands while pulling his pants down,”
Same here on what “gosh” said too. I knew someone a real long time that I couldn’t believe did something worse than this, in the same category. He DID do the evil deed, much to my dismay, and much to the hurt of his family. I hope this is not true in this case.
Walnut Hill Roy:
I agree. I do not know Jim well, but I have spoken with him in person and by phone several times over the years. He has always seemed pleasant, helpful, and professional. Something about this just doesn’t sound right. He seems much too smart of a guy to do something that STUPID!!! TImes are hard and many are desperate. Not saying the woman is lying, but this story sounds strange to me. Why did she not just leave after the first alledged misdeed? I think I would have.
We had a 25 yr old supervisor (son of a local Post Master) send videos of himself playing with mr wiggles to several girls in the office and he is still working for the USPS. I believe this happened because i have seen nothing but terrible behavior from USPS managers because they know there is NO one that will fire them ever!
I agree with “gosh” and “the truth is”. May the real truth come out of all of this.
And a man does not have to pull his pants down to expose himself.
Just sayin’
We may never know. I myself had a boss that I would never have believed would have grabbed me and groped me in his furniture store warehouse three years after
starting to work for him. I never said a thing, but I never went back in that warehouse when the owner was in the house. He did catch me one night when the
store closed and we were the last to leave some 2 years later. I still never complained. I just stayed the heck away from him. YOU KNOW WHY! I had
a good job and I didn’t know who to tell or who would believe me.
I hope who ever the bad person here is, they are found out and severly punshed,
I have ulcers today and wonder sometimes who gave them to me!
are there not any cameras? there should be.
and yes, she could be fabricating this story for revenge, but she may be telling the truth.
and listen, i know that you guys that posted that you’ve known him for years and he’s a good guy and you can’t believe he’d do something like this….and that may be the case, but, i’ve know someone for almost all of my life and would never have thought that he’d do such a thing, but he DID! so, you don’t always know the person, even when you think you do.
here’s to hoping that this will result in the truth from one party or another and justice to the victim, whomever it may be
This woman is taking a big step. She may see consiquences too.There is a lady that works in our office that has filed 2 harrassment charges.Both were cleared after they went through a gauntlet of inqueries, one of them had trouble at home because of it. She can’t figure out why no-one wants to stop and talk to her anymore. Most of us wouldn’t look her way even if she set herself on fire. But, to be fair, this may not be the case.
I worked with Jim since I started in 1995 until I transfered in 07. He was always a nice guy that would do anything to help someone. I can’t believe he would do something like this. Something definitely smells fishy about this! It’s so easy to scream harrassment today and I’ll bet you could get more and better character references for him than for her.
I’ve had quite a few dealings with Jim since I bought a place in North Escambia County 4 years ago; I’ve found him to be extremely helpful and well aware of all postal regulations. I personally have a really hard time believing that this happened at all and if something did happen I don’t believe that it is in the way that is described. It’s very easy to ruin someone’s reputation with a false accusation, especially since the accuser’s name never appears in a sexual case. “If” and I say again “if” he’s found innocent, who will give him back his reputation? Hopefully the locals and the Postal Service will.
“”This man’s picture should not be posted at this point.”"
So someboy at northescambia.com should stick their head in the sand and ignore the story since he’s a postmaster and you are “retired postmaster”. Of course northescambia.com ran the story first as always but every other TV station in mobile and pensacola and the pensacola mullet wrapper also ran it. don’t hear you complaining when a meth lab suspects picture is on TV.
He has everything to lose. She has everything to gain including monetary compensation from the Postal Service for sexual harrassment at work. The Postal Service is correct in removing him from the workplace to investigate. However, if you are charged with sexual harrassment in the Postal Service, you better be guilty because they assume you are in most cases. This man’s picture should not be posted at this point.
don’t they normally not pay people for leave like this? if he’s getting paid leave that make me wonder if they really feel they have a case then…
How could he hold her hands if his hands were busy pulling his pants down? This whole thing sounds weird to me. Why would anyone take a chance like this in a post office during business hours. Sounds VERY fishy to me.
Something isn’t right here with this story. Namely, not enough facts. Special Agents with the US Postal Service are Federal Agents. Yet there are no Federal charges? Odd.
Bond this low is not uncommon for these charges. Signature bonds are the norm.
She claims he groped her all over her body earlier in the day but she didn’t complain until the second time? This makes her either a liar or an idiot.
I have had the opportunity to deal with Jim Lee on postal matters since late 2005, both on the phone and in person. He has been nothing but a gentleman in every contact I have had with him. I, too, think this is a disgruntled employee who is seeking revenge for some disciplinary action taken against her. I hope there is a speedy resolution to this and Jim is back on the job soon.
DAVID GREEN–YOU AND I ARE ON THE SAME PAGE ON THIS. ALSO I GUESS HE COULD TRY TO HOLD BOTH OF HER HANDS WITH ONE OF HIS HANDS WHILE TRYING TO PULL DOWN HIS PANTS ALSO REF. TAKING A POLYGRAPH —FOR THE MOST PART IT JUST SHOW IF THERE IS DECEPTION TO A QUESTION. THE FUN PART IS WHEN THE PERSON COMPLAINING IS ASK TO TAKE THE SAME TEST—A LARGE NUMBER WILL WITHDRAW THEIR COMPLAINT.
Return to Sender
I don’t know either one of them, but it seems there should have been a little more investigating before his picture was plastered all over the papers. His life is screwed up even if he is innocent. It just seems like they jumped the guns on this one. I just hope whatever takes place it will be fair justice for all concerned
It appears to be a wee bit unfair to post his photo and read the allegations without knowing his side. Again this charges are terrible. The trouble,expence and humilliation that he will go through, even if innocent wil surely be noted. I know one thing for sure, if I worked with the femail that made the accusation, I would do my best to stay clear at least 50 feet, and never be in the same area alone with her until this case is over. I am sorry, but I have seen too much. But if he is found guilty, let him pay the price.
If this is true then OMG!!
Mighty low bail…. :/
Supervisors and managers thrive on things like this. To account for what they are doing and to justify thier job, they have to make it hard on the hired help. It seems like they would put him on leave until they investigate, and then bring in the law.
We still don’t know what he statement says. I have seen people wrongly accused many times so I ask, Does he have a history of bad judgement? Or, does she have a history of making accusations? Were they in a previous relationship? This story is for too incomplete to make a call either way.
REGARDING:
“Not real smart to let this guy out. $600.00 this is a joke. Its all about the money just goes to show you.”
Same as always. Bond is set to assure they will appear in court as long as they are not considered dangerous. Judges make that determination based on a number of factors. Otherwise people would have to stay in jail for months for crimes for which they were later found not guilty. Also, it hinders their right to mount a proper defense. Remember, they are charged with crimes, not yet found guilty or not guilty.
The Constitution guarantees there will not be unreasonable bond set because otherwise you could be jailed forever on false accusations.
David for not jumping to conclusions
they want let the lady that hit her son one little time with her baton out on bond but will lit this freak out….. don’t figure……
if he feels that he is innocent, he should insist on (and pay for) a lie detector test to assist in his case….unless there are surveillance cameras or eye witnesses, i would think that it would be a difficult case to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt…
I’M GUESSING THAT NONE OF YOU IN THE “PUT HIM UNDER THE JAIL GROUP” HAVE EVER HAD A FAULT ACCUSATION MADE AGAINST OR ABOUT YOU. HE’LL HAVE TO TRY TO PROVE HE DIDN’T DO IT—I KNOW THAT’S NOT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE –BUT THAT’S MORE TRUE THAN “INNOCENCE UNTILL PROVEN GUILTY”. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE THIS LOOK AT MOST OF THE COMMENTS. POSTAL INSPECTORS WERE INVOLVED BECAUSE BOTH WORKING FOR POSTAL AND ON POSTAL PROPERTY .ONE LAST THING—BOND IS TO FORCE HIM TO SHOW UP FOR COURT—THERE COULD BE A NUMBER OF REASONS FOR A “LOW NBOND”.
I just hate things like this. Either way it is just too scummy for words.
This is a case that has the potential to ruin a man’s life.. If he is found guilty, he should be punished.. In the meantime, I strongly agree with cynical that this man is innocent until he is tried and proven guilty..
Innocent until proven guilty! The state always charges the minor offenses with the highest charge they can think of first. That way when they plea bargain to a lesser charge it looks like they worked with person. All this will be dropped to misdemeaners and probation time. He’ll be fired and lose his benefits. If what he has been accused of is true then he will be losing alot but probably not enough. If he is innocent and wrongfully accused then he is going to lose everything! Give it time and stop jumping the gun. It makes the north end look bad.
t2,
When you prevent someone from leaving = false imprisonment. It probably stems from “holding her by her hands…”
Im confused, where does the false impisonment charges come from, from what action of his? Please someone clarify, thanks.
Innocent ’till proven otherwise. Lot of people boiling the cat here.
He does not need to prove his innocence, the state needs to prove him guilty beyond simple allegation.
I wouldn’t saddle this horse for a ride to prison just yet. . .
Have you ever thought that maybe the BOND is so low because it is a he said she said situation- if it is not true wouldn’t you hate to be in his shoes, his life is ruined.
I want to know who made the allegations…I do not believe this….
They’re gonna cancel HIS stamp !
he used stamps to get out? hahahahahahaahahaha…. new meaning to the term postal? this, my friends, is why i love north escambia dot com.
Gives a whole new meaning to “going postal”.
I to will be watching this one. That is an extremly low bond. Something is smelling a little fishy here. It will interesting to follow this case for sure.
Bond was so low he used stamps to get out.
Bond does seem extremely low for the charges. Waiting to see further details on this. Hope, while we are all waiting, someone else is not in danger.
Well the postal inspection service has full jurisdiction in all US states, territories, and foreign soil where there is a S.O.F.A. in effect. (SOFA= Status of Forces agreement) it is not uncommon to transfer warrants from say another state of jurisdiction, to the postal inspectors so they can be executed as the inspectors can execute them anywhere as listed above. This saves money and time with extradition and such. There is definitely something strange about this with the low bond amount for the charges, they just do not match.
Not real smart to let this guy out. $600.00 this is a joke. Its all about the money just goes to show you.
I don’t understand why there would be Postal Inspection Service Warrants for kidnapping and sexual assult. That is to say that I don’t know what it is. Also, I am with these other commenters about this seemingly low bond for what looks like terrible offences. I will be watching this one.
this is so wrong
Ok what is wrong with this BOND. This guy is arrested on sexual assault and kidnapping charges and he can pay $600.00 and WALK. Who’s brother is he
anyway George Bushs?
they let him out on $6000 bond for kidnapping? and sexual assault? something aint right.