Plainclothes police arrested two youths who attempted to rob two pedestrians at gunpoint in quick succession near 47th and Warrington and 48th and Springfield late Wednesday night.

A 59-year-old man was walking his dog at about 11 p.m. on the 4700 block of Warrington when a young man, who police later identified as a 17-year-old, jumped out of the bushes and tried to rob him, police said. The man turned to run but was met by another 17-year-old who swung at him. The older man blocked the punch, hit the young man in the face and fled. Both youths chased the man, who managed to attract the attention of several more pedestrians who came to help him. The two youths fled.

About 10 minutes later a 31-year-old male was walking near 48th and Springfield when he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around to see a young man pointing a gun at him. The male, who police say was also involved in the first robbery, demanded that he empty his pockets. When the man said he had nothing in his pockets the young man struck him in the face with the gun and rifled through his pockets before fleeing on foot. The victim suffered a broken nose.

Plainclothes police who had been alerted to the first robbery observed the second and caught one suspect after a brief pursuit. The second suspect fled down Springfield Avenue and was caught near an alley where police also recovered a BB gun pistol.

Both defendants, whose names were not released because they are juveniles, were charged with the robberies and police say they are investigating their possible involvement in other robberies in the area involving youths in recent weeks.
 

A 36-year-old man was mugged by 10-12 young males on the 4600 block of Chester Avenue on Monday night, police said.

Police say the youths punched the man, who was a house guest at a nearby residence, and stole his cell phone and laptop at about 11 p.m. He refused medical attention. The youths were not armed and no arrests have so far been made.

The West Philly resident with whom the man is staying wrote us that:

“It seems like there has been an uptick in muggings in the “triangle” between Baltimore and Woodland and 40th and the Kingsessing rec center which is usually pretty quiet compared to the main East-West streets (Walnut, Spruce).”

Two young men masked with red bandanas and brandishing a BB-gun robbed a woman last week near 48th and Osage, but were quickly caught by police a couple of blocks away.

Police say two men approached the woman at about 10:20 p.m. on June 2 demanding money and credit cards. One was carrying what turned out to be a Beeman P-17 BB pistol and a third suspect later confessed to serving as lookout. The woman quickly called police and plainclothes officers from the 18th District spotted the three men near the 4900 block of Cedar Avenue. All three were captured nearby and the pistol, which was discarded during the pursuit, was recovered.

Two men were still in posession of the bandanas and all three confessed to the robbery.

A neighbor, Nancy, wrote us to describe a run-in she had very early Saturday morning. We wanted to pass it along just to keep folks alert. We have edited it for length.

I was sleeping and at 2 a.m. someone was repeatedly “buzzing” my front door. I live at 4702 Hazel, first floor. There are three apartment units in my building and 4 people who lived in the building.

There was a man standing at my door — tall, large (not overweight, but not a small person), black, wearing dark clothes and a dark baseball cap, in his thirties, no facial hair and no glasses. He did not seem intoxicated or insane. I did not open the main doors to the building and I only spoke to him through the glass.

He was holding a little piece of paper which he was acting like he was reading. He spoke very low so it was almost impossible for me to hear him. I could see the paper had just a couple scribbles or numbers on them. He said he was looking for “Lewis” (which is my name, and also on my mailbox in the vestibule). He told me my neighbors upstairs were in the hospital. It was very hard to communicate because of his low talking and mumbling. He said he was a tow-truck driver and he was dropping off their keys to a “Lewis.” It took awhile for the red flags to go off.

I think he was talking low so I would open the door in order to hear him. He wanted me to open the door for the keys (I never saw any keys, nor a tow truck…in fact there was no car running in the street or anything…he was clearly on foot).  He constantly referred to his little piece of paper, saying “Lewis.” Finally my boyfriend woke up and came out and said “who are you and why are you here?” and then we told him he had the wrong address and he left. We were both really frightened. It was all very suspicious. But if I had opened the door I do believe something really bad would have happened.

I called the police to let them know, but regrettably I did not have them come to my building for a report. I was very worried that he would try it down the road to someone else and someone would be hurt. I feel stupid for even engaging with him as long as I did, but I also feel very lucky. I am aware that there have been a string of robberies/muggings in my neighborhood and this guy had a lot of “tricks” so I want people to know and not fall for it and not get hurt.

Thanks for listening. And, by the way, none of my neighbors are in the hospital … they are all fine.

Thanks again and be careful. Don’t answer your door and always keep your door locked, especially if you have slacked off lately.

West Philly resident Lene and her fiancee, AJ, were victims in a hit-and-run accident at 2:30 a.m. Saturday night near 51st and Pine. Lene e-mailed us with this information:

Last night [Sat, May 29] at about 2:30 a.m., my fiancee heard a big crash outside. He ran
outside to find our car pushed up on the curb, my scooter, and his
motorcycle tipped over into another person’s car. Behind our car was the
bumper and headlight of a golden 2005 Buick Lacrosse. There was also a lot
of water as if the radiator was blown.

AJ and our neighbor a few doors down, who came running out after he heard
the crash, could see the car a few blocks down on 51st towards Market, it
had stalled and the driver was trying to get it started again. AJ called the
police, who told him to wait by the car. No police showed up in the 10
minute timeframe until the driver got the Buick going again. The car made a
left turn onto Market or Chestnut. AJ spent several hours combing the
streets looking for the car, as he expected that it would not get very far
in that condition, but he was not able to find the car.

We were hoping that people could contact AJ on 215-260-3232 or
theelordwolve  [at] yahoo.com if they come across a golden 2005 Buick Lacrosse
missing part of the front bumper, flat tire, and possibly a busted radiator.
We would love to get the registration information as our car just came back
from the body shop on Tuesday.

The full surveillance video of two young men who forced a man at gunpoint to withdraw money from an ATM machine and buy them cigarettes and cigars has been made available.

As we reported earlier, the two men approached the victim at 4717 Cedar Ave. at about 1 a.m. on May 24, pointed a handgun at him and demanded cash. They took the man’s cell phone and walked him to the Sunoco at 45th and Baltimore Ave. and ordered him to withdraw money from his account. All three left the store, but returned a few minutes later to buy items with the man’s debit card.

Both transactions are clearly visible on the full video below.

The men led the victim to 46th Street, made him lay on the sidewalk and then fled. Police believe the two suspects may be linked to other robberies in the area, including one a few minutes after this one.

Anyone with information should contact the Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183/3185.