Benjamin Ashford|Former New Mexico football player convicted of robbing a postal carrier

ALBUQUERQUE,Benjamin Ashford N.M. (AP) — A former University of New Mexico football player has been convicted of robbing a U.S. postal carrier and is facing up to 10 years in prison, authorities said Monday.

Prosecutors said 28-year-old Rayshawn Boyce, of Albuquerque, also was found guilty by a federal jury of stealing a key belonging to the U.S. Postal Service and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

A sentencing date for Boyce hasn’t been scheduled yet.

Boyce and a co-defendant pulled a mail carrier out of his truck in January 2022 in the International District and demanded his keys at gunpoint before a neighbor who witnessed the altercation intervened, prosecutors said.

Boyce fled the scene and authorities said they later executed a search warrant at his apartment and seized two semi-automatic guns and a revolver, leading to his arrest.

Boyce pleaded not guilty. His lawyer did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

After transferring to New Mexico from a California junior college, Boyce played in eight games for the Lobos in 2017 as a linebacker.

He was suspended from the team in 2018 after being accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Boyce pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years of probation.