A 27-year-old Denham Springs man was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison Thursday for yelling racial slurs at a female mail carrier outside his apartment, then grabbing and slamming her to the ground.
In the April 15, 2025, attack, Cody Gaspard was reportedly motivated to confront the carrier over packages that had yet to be delivered.
“During the encounter, Gaspard directed racially charged insults at the mail carrier, followed her through the apartment complex, physically grabbed her by the neck, and assaulted her for more than a minute, eventually lifting her and slamming her to the ground,†U.S. Attorney Kurt Wall said in a Thursday statement.
Gaspard was convicted in March 2026 on a single count of assault of a postal employee.
At Thursday's sentencing hearing, Judge Brian Jackson imposed a sentence lower than the six- to 7½-year punishment outlined for a charge of this nature. He noted that Gaspard sought out anger management counseling on his own volition following his arrest, but called Gaspard's conduct on the day of the assault “shocking and unhinged.â€
“You not only humiliated her, but dehumanized her,†Jackson said during sentencing.
Jackson sentenced Gaspard to 30 months in prison and stipulated that he be housed at a facility that is able to provide cognitive behavioral therapy and opportunities for further anger management.
Gaspard is not eligible for parole and will be required to be under court supervision for an additional two years following his release.
Jackson noted that the jury in this trial deliberated for less than two hours.
He also told Gaspard he is fortunate that U.S. attorneys decided not to prosecute the case as a hate crime.
Trauma forced her to quit
Describing the crime, Jackson said Gaspard approached the mail carrier while she was filling mail slots at his Livingston Parish apartment. After being confronted about missing packages, the woman told Gaspard to walk away and tried to exit the situation herself.
After almost stepping away, Gaspard turned back to the carrier, calling her a “dumb Black b***h,†Jackson said.
The judge admonished Gaspard for a racially charged comment in which he asked the carrier if she was on the phone with “Tyrone.â€
“Why couldn't she have been on the phone with Bob or Sam?†Jackson said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Flowers described the attack as not just an argument nor a shoving match, but an extended assault that Gaspard continually escalated: first by using racial slurs, then by following the victim, grabbing her and slamming her into the ground.
Jackson said that while the victim was down, Gaspard told her, “Think you can get a man off of you?â€
A bystander had to assist in ending the altercation, Jackson said. The bystander also testified that he heard Gaspard continue to use racial slurs during the attack.
Videos from both Gaspard and the victim documented the attack.
Speaking before the court, the victim said Gaspard wounded her physically and emotionally.
In addition to suffering a concussion and needing weeks of physical therapy, the victim told the court that she was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, depression and insomnia.
The trauma forced her to leave her position at the United States Postal Service, which in turn left her without wages and financial support for her son's childcare.
“No one should have to be afraid while simply serving their community,†she said Thursday.
While Gaspard's family and employer had provided statements saying this was out of his character, Flowers told the court that “before us is not only the man his family knows, but also the man who violently assaulted a federal postal employee.â€
A letter in support of the victim from the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association was also submitted, with National President Donald Maston saying the crime “reverberated†among the organization's 130,000 members.
With his own chance to speak, Gaspard said he “fully recognizes the gravity of the situation.â€
He said he allowed a verbal confrontation to “spiral out of control into a physical altercation,†and apologized to his victim for failing to de-escalate the interaction and step away.
Gaspard guaranteed Jackson this would be the last time he would be in a courtroom.
He told the court that prior to his arrest, he had been planning to propose to his girlfriend, but the “shame and uncertainty†of his arrest kept him from doing so.