Felon sentenced to more than a decade in prison following Buckhead shootout and robbery of mail carrier

ATLANTA - Maximo Fitzhugh has been sentenced to 10 and a half years in federal prison for a pair of violent crimes, one of which resulted in a gun battle in the Buckhead district of Atlanta.

"After threatening to shoot up a women's clinic, Fitzhugh held a postal worker at gunpoint and endangered the lives of other citizens when he brazenly robbed a mail carrier and instigated a lunch-hour shootout in one of Atlanta's most active business districts," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "Thanks to cooperation between our office, federal agents, and our state and local partners, a dangerous, violent criminal is off the street and behind bars, where he belongs."

"Threatening mass violence and then carrying out an armed robbery that escalated into a public shootout is the kind of dangerous conduct that puts entire communities at risk," said Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "Today's sentence reflects the seriousness of these crimes and the FBI's commitment to working with our partners to hold violent offenders accountable."

"The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to keeping the U.S. mail, its employees, and customers safe," said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Atlanta Division. "This sentencing is the culmination of exceptional teamwork between our local and federal law enforcement partners along with the U.S. Attorney's Office. The swift response by responding officers and their ongoing support were instrumental in making this a successful investigation. Ensuring the safety of our employees is a top priority, Postal Inspectors will continue to thoroughly investigate any robberies of our employees."

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: on April 9, 2024, Fitzhugh called an Atlanta women's clinic and told the employees to evacuate because he was planning to "shoot the whole place up." The clinic locked its doors until FBI agents and Atlanta Police Department officers responded and secured the area.

Approximately four months later, just after noon on August 1, 2024, Fitzhugh robbed a mail carrier who was delivering mail near the high-end Buckhead Village shopping center. During the robbery, which was captured on surveillance video, Fitzhugh pointed a handgun at the carrier and threatened to kill her.

A passerby who witnessed the robbery unfolding drew his own handgun, yelled at Fitzhugh to stop, and fired at him. As a result, Fitzhugh hid behind a parked car, fired his handgun in the air, and fled the area. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Multiple law enforcement agencies worked together to identify Fitzhugh as the robber, and the FBI took him into custody on August 19, 2024.

On April 24, 2026, Maximo Fitzhugh, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. to serve 10 years, six months in prison to be followed by five years on supervised release. On October 25, 2025, Fitzhugh pled guilty to one count of communicating interstate threats and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bret R. Hobson and Brent Alan Gray and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Annalise K. Peters prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.