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Two suspects have been apprehended in a series of roberries in Whitman and Pennsport which resulted in a car chase that ended in the suspect’s Plymouth mini-van jumping a curb on the 2200 block of South 13th Street The van’s tires blew and the supsects fled on foot through Lower Moyamensing and were apprehended on the 1200 block of Wolf St. and the 1000 block of Wolf Street on Sunday night.
At arpproxmiately 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, one suspect entered a Radio Shack, 330 Oregon Ave., wearing a Nirvana shirt and wielding a knife, slicing off ant-theft devices and stuffing merchandise into his pants, police said. He then pointed a knife at the counterperson, hid his weapon when a co-worker walked out, slapped a $20 bill down and headed for an exit. Another employee threatened to call police, to which the robber responded “Go ahead.” The employee captured his license plate as he revved his car, drove it alarmingly at the her and suddenly breaked before fleeing.
An hour and a half later and police responded to another report of robbery at the Home Depot, 1601 S. Columbus Blvd. Officers met with a Loss Prevention staff member who also saw the suspect in a Nirvana t-shirt taking items and leaving without paying. The Loss Prevention employee followed the offender outside the store to the same maroon Plymouth mini-van. The employee tried to take the merchandise back but the offender punched the complainant three times in the face and took his iPhone. The total value of merchandise stolen was valued at $2,520.
The vehicle was pulled over at 1100 S. Columbus Blvd. but pulled away at a high-speed as officers were exiting their vehicle. Two hours later, police observed the vehicle at 7000 Lindbergh Blvd. 30-year-old Francis Gesualdo, a resident of the 1600 block of Porter Street, and 32-year-old Matthew Velykis, a resident of the 2800 block of S. Sydenham St. were taken into custody after fleeing arrest.
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