2 Workers Are Stabbed in Lot of Postal Center

Two postal workers in Van Nuys were stabbed repeatedly--one of them 11 times--during an early Saturday morning robbery in their employee parking lot, authorities said.

Police are seeking four robbers, described by witnesses as being in their late teens, who may have gotten only a wallet from the two men they assaulted.

Mail handler Richard K. Nowlin, 46, was stabbed in the chest, abdomen and ribs. He was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he was in critical condition but expected to survive, according to Postal Inspector Pamela Prince.

Letter sorting clerk Douglas A. Rawson, 39, of Sylmar, was stabbed twice in the back. He was treated and released from Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, said nursing supervisor Dawn Lombardo.

The attack occurred as Nowlin and Rawson chatted in the parking lot at the Van Nuys Processing and Distribution Center, 15701 Sherman Way, Prince said. It’s the latest in a string of recent criminal incidents that postal workers say have occurred in the parking lot.

About 2:40 a.m. Saturday, Nowlin, who has worked for the Postal Service for 26 years, was returning to work after a dinner break. Rawson had just gotten off work and was going home.

The two were approached by the teen-agers who demanded money, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Ralph Krusey. When Nowlin and Rawson refused, they were attacked, according to postal workers who witnessed the attack.

The assailants apparently took one of the victim’s wallets and then escaped in a light-colored Oldsmobile or Buick Regal, Prince said. The witnesses called paramedics.

“It was a very risky robbery because employees are coming in and out all the time,” Prince said. “It’s absolutely heinous. We need to catch these thugs before they strike again.”

Postal workers said that they know of cars being stolen from the well-lit lot. They also said some employees there have been robbed and harassed.

“Anyone can come into that parking lot, and they do,” said one worker, who would not give his name. “Security hasn’t been what it should be. What we need is someone at the gate to check IDs.”

“This is nothing new,” said another employee. “We’ve told management about it, but all they’re worried about is getting the mail out on time and nothing else.”

Postal officials say the parking lot is regularly patrolled. “There have been reports of different types of incidents and harassments over the years,” Prince said. “The postal police patrols the parking lot, but they can’t be there all the time.”

On Saturday, two postal police officers were stationed in the large L-shaped parking lot as workers scrubbed blood stains from the asphalt.

“It’s too bad something like this had to happen,” said one letter carrier. “But maybe now, they’ll do something to give us some more security.”

The U.S. Postal Service has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailants.

Times staff writer Tracey Kaplan contributed to this story.