Tribute: U.S. Postal Service worker, fatally shot, was 'wonderful guy'

FORT PIERCE — A lengthy procession of U.S. Postal Service vehicles Saturday slowly passed the home where longtime postal employee Roosevelt Benjamin was found fatally shot a week earlier, the drivers handing roses to his widow.

Many outside the residence on Avenue P just east of North 25th Street wore Dallas Cowboys shirts — Benjamin was a diehard fan — with his age, 59, on the back.

“This is unbelievable how they show the love for my brother, but that just shows you what a great guy my brother is, and what he did for this community,” one of his siblings, Kim Benjamin, said.

Fort Pierce police continue investigating the May 18 incidents that left Roosevelt Benjamin and two others dead — one of whom died after a gunfire exchange with police, spokesman Larry Croom said.

Joe Cox, manager at the post office in the 1700 block of Orange Avenue where Roosevelt Benjamin worked, said he was an employee for nearly 40 years. Cox said he worked with Roosevelt Benjamin, who was known as "Kent," for about 18 months.

“We wanted to do something to pay tribute to him," Cox said at the facility. "We have a lot of co-workers here that spent a lot of years working with him, and he's going to be greatly missed.”

Jacqueline Long, who said she worked for the post office for 40 years, described Roosevelt Benjamin as a "wonderful guy."

"The family is great. Couldn't ask for better neighbors, friends," Long said outside the post office. "I'm just heartbroken right now.”

Letter carrier Amy Magliarditi said Roosevelt Benjamin got to the post office at 4 a.m. and opened it. She worked with him for 30 years.

“He was the best, and he made all of us better," Magliarditi said. "We were really fortunate to work with him."

The man who died after the gunfire exchange with Fort Pierce police was identified as Bernard Smith, 28. Smith appears to have a criminal history dating to as early as 2012, records show. He was released from state prison March 5, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

Devin Bradley, 24, who was an employee of the Fort Pierce Police Department in the agency's information technology department, also died in the incident. Attempts to contact Bradley's family and co-workers for comment last week were unsuccessful. A 50-year-old man was shot and wounded.

Meanwhile, even though Roosevelt Benjamin was hearing-impaired, “He could talk trash to you," Long said.

"He could be comical," she said. "He was always a prankster. He was always a lot of fun.”

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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Slain Fort Pierce postal worker honored at procession