A Tigard man who shot a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Milwaukie has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.

A Tigard man who shot a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Milwaukie has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.

On July 17, a federal judge sentenced Kevin Eugene Irvine for the shooting, which injured the postal worker in the knee.

According to court documents, Irvine, 34, was driving a white van through Milwaukie on Dec. 24, 2022, when he made eye contact with a letter carrier delivering mail on foot.

Investigators said Irvine threw his arms in the air, which the letter carrier mistook as waving, so the letter carrier waved back.

Not long after, while on an adjacent street, the letter carrier noticed the same van and again made eye contact with Irvine as he drove past.

“Irvine stopped the van several houses away, got out of his vehicle with a rifle, knelt on the street and fired three rounds, striking the letter carrier once as the letter carrier ran for cover,” a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said. “After the shooting, Irvine picked up his shell casings and drove off.”

Four days later, police stopped Irvine’s van in Lake Oswego and arrested him.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Irvine’s van and found three rifles, ammunition, spent shell casings, a knife, shooting targets and ballistic gear.

On Feb. 8, 2023, a federal grand jury in Portland indicted Irvine on charges of aggravated assault on a federal employee using a firearm, attempted murder of a federal employee and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Irvine was convicted of all three counts following a trial before a federal judge.