Suspect arrested for Dallas postal worker's murder

DALLAS - The man arrested in the fatal shooting of a postal worker driving on an interstate near downtown Dallas was acting out of road rage, new documents state.

Donnie Ferrell, 25, was arrested Wednesday night after a standoff in Hutchins. He’s charged with murder for the shooting death of U.S. Postal Service employee Tony Mosby, who was shot early Monday on Interstate 30 just before the Margaret McDermott Bridge near downtown. When police arrived, they found Mosby dead inside the cab of his postal truck that had crashed into a guardrail.

Investigators say two witnesses came to the FBI's Fort Worth field office Wednesday saying that they were in the car with Ferrell when he fired the shots at the truck. They say Ferrell claimed Mosby made a hand gesture at them as they tried to pass his truck, and he fired the gun out of anger.

The two said they had met up with Ferrell and another person for dinner at a Dallas restaurant before drinking together at a pool hall. The four left together. The witnesses said a fourth person, who was driving the SUV, was driving erratically behind the postal truck and was passing on the truck's left when Ferrell fired the shots from a revolver.

The two said that Ferrell had texted them to try to persuade them not to say anything about the shooting, but they opted to speak to FBI officials anyways.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service had offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Mosby's murder is considered a federal crime because he was on the job. 

Mosby was a 14-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service, and his family is still in shock over the murder.

The postal worker’s nephew, Devonte Johnson, says his family is dumbfounded that an apparent case of road rage could end like it did.

“It brings my heart a lot of joy to know that they actually caught him and he is off the streets because we don't need people like that out there in the world,” Johnson said.

Ferrell appeared in court Thursday afternoon to face a charge of murder of a U.S. government employee who was performing his duties. According to court records, Ferrell has a criminal past that includes a theft conviction in 2013.

Former U.S. Attorney for North Texas Richard Roper said Ferrell now faces a grim future. If convicted, he could face the most serious charges there are.

"It couldn't be anything more serious than murder of a federal employee," Roper said. "The possible punishment, if he were to be found guilty, could include life without parole and even possibly the death penalty."

While there is still a ways to go for a conviction, it's a step closer to justice for the family of a man described as a hard worker and great guy.

“It's just so quick,” Johnson said. “It honestly felt like yesterday that I just saw him, that his car was right there in the driveway.”