Kearney man gets sentence reduced for post office burglary

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Kearney man was sentenced Thursday for burglarizing a United States Post Office.

Tyrelle Smiley, 26, was sentenced to 22 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

He was initially sentenced to more than two years in prison last June, but an error in the procedure was discovered during an appeal.

In November 2019, two people broke into the U.S. Postal Service branch in Rockville, Nebraska, about 40 miles northeast of Kearney.

When employees went to work the next day, they noticed several items had been taken, including mailed items, money and reels of stamps.

Smiley was found responsible for other burglaries in the area, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, and became a suspect in that crime as well.

A postal inspector met with Smiley and he eventually admitted to being at the post office.

Smiley's roommate consented to a search of their apartment and the postal inspector found the stolen items.

The postage stamps were scanned for fingerprints and Smiley's were found on them, authorities said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said an appeals court ordered that Smiley be resentenced because of a misunderstanding about when the burglary occurred in relation to other burglaries for which Smiley had been convicted. convicted in state court.

Smiley is currently incarcerated in state prison and is expected to be released in 2027, according to the Nebraska Department of Corrections.