UPDATE: Police say that the two men connected with the incident below have been charged with robbery, aggravated assault and weapons charges. They have also been charged in connection with another robbery on Oct. 25 in the 5600 Springfield Ave. In that case, police say the 18-year-old, whom they identified as Tory Winchester of the 5600 block of Springfield Ave., and three other men, including the unidentified 17-year-old below, broke into an apartment at about 12:30 a.m. Three males in their 20s were in the apartment and awoke to find the four men each pointing handguns at them. The four suspects ordered the men to walk down the stairs to the apartment’s living room and asked about narcotics and money, police said. One victim was punched and another was pistol whipped, police said. The four suspects escaped with a cell phone and a transpass.
Two men are in police custody after their brazen plot to rob three residents in an apartment at 4725 Chester Ave. last night fell apart.
Police say a 17-year-old man armed with a handgun burst into the apartment at about 10:30 p.m. and demanded that the three people inside – two women and a man – hand over cash and other belongings. The man then called two accomplices on a mobile phone and told them he would let them into the building. Police said he then marched the three victims at gunpoint down the building’s stairs to the main entrance to meet two accomplices. When they arrived at the door the victims fled outside and found police.
The 17-year-old and an 18-year-old accomplice were apprehended. A third suspect is still at large. Police were searching the area last night in patrol cars and from a helicopter.
There were no injuries. The male victim, who resided in the apartment, is 19. The females are 24 and 29 years of age.
The charges against the two men in custody will be forthcoming, police said.
October 28th, 2011 at 11:34 am
Thanks for posting this. I was wondering what the helicopter noise last night was about.
October 28th, 2011 at 11:34 am
This just sickens me. I am glad that two of three ‘perps’ are in custody, but what the hell is going on with the teens in West Philly lately?? So many of these recent crimes have been committed by teenage boys.
I have a 12 year old son and a 13 year old daughter who were quite literally born and raised here – I cannot imagine them ever assaulting or robbing anyone. You have to think about where these kids, who are committing serious crimes, are coming from — this is a social issue, really. Somewhere along the line, these teenage kids surely could have been helped. But with the local highschool having its own share of shootings, fights, and crime in general – how do those kids have a chance?
I’m sure I just sound like some privileged white lady… but I’ve lived in West Philly for 16 years, as a working class person – and not as part of the UPenn ‘renaissance’ (even though that has effected my own neighborhood, and not in only positive ways). I remember the drug dealers on the corner, the trash in streets, and the stories of muggings mere feet from my front door… I guess, as idealistic as it sounds, I’d hoped that those days were behind us.
For a little while, it seemed like crime was falling in this area. Now, with the rash of muggings and worse, people are fearful again. I hope the kids of West Philly are paying attention, and that they feel disgusted too.
October 29th, 2011 at 12:39 am
We need harsher punishments for these sub-humans. Personally, I vote for public stoning.
October 31st, 2011 at 11:56 am
Isn’t that the apartment complex with the fake “Police Substation” sign on it? Guess that’s not very effective.
October 31st, 2011 at 1:54 pm
It is still a public substation, where I saw cops in there once in a while few months ago. The building where the incident happened was 1 block down on Chester.