A Springfield man was sentenced to prison for punching a postal carrier in the face.

Larry French Jr., 23, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison this week for assaulting a U.S. postal carrier in Springfield during May of last year.

Authorities said French was having a "physical interaction" with his sister in the roadway which prevented the mail carrier from driving through an intersection.

The carrier yelled to French that he was going to call the police when French approached the carrier and punched the carrier through an open window in the mail truck.

The mail carrier needed corrective surgery following the punch, according to authorities.

At the sentencing hearing, presiding U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless said French acted irrationally by punching the carrier and that his actions caused the victim serious bodily injury. Judge Lawless also said the carrier acted as Good Samaritan by stopping the initial attack and trying to call the police.

A federal grand jury indicted French with the assault in July 2024 and French pleaded guilty in September. He has remained in custody of the United States Marshal.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Springfield Police Department investigated the case.

Statutory penalties for assaulting federal officers are up to 20 years of prison time, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine. French’s sentence will be followed by two years of supervised release.