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Police arrested the man who allegedly attempted to rob a Lower Moyamensing eatery last week.
Christopher Lonasco, 54, of the 2200 block of South Darien Street, allegedly entered Ho Choi Grocery, 2300 S. Ninth St., at 6:45 p.m. Jan. 14, Detective Danielle Tolliver of South Detective Division said. He allegedly walked around and approached the 24-year-old male employee behind the counter with a knife and said, “Give me the money.” The worker grabbed a chair and swung it repeatedly until Lonasco is believed to have fled.
At 8:15 p.m. the next day, investigators returned to the site to review video surveillance, at which time they learned the supposed offender lived up the street. Police arrested Lonasco at his home. He was charged with robbery, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering another person.
His bail was set at $20,000 Jan. 16, but he had not posted it as of press time, according to court records. In 1992, Lonasco pled guilty to simple assault and possession of an instrument of crime and was sentenced to two years of probation while in 2008, he was convicted of simple assault and was on probation for 18 months. Both incidents occurred in South Philly.
Contact Managing Editor Amanda L. Snyder at asnyder@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
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