Armed robbery suspect charged
Police still searching for second suspect in 7-Eleven robbery
A West Philadelphia man is now in custody for his role in the armed robbery of a Roxborough 7-Eleven, while police are still on the lookout for his accomplice.
The 7-Eleven store located at 5632 Ridge Ave. in Roxborough was robbed around 1:28 a.m. Thursday, May 4, according to police.
A man entered the store and pretended to be shopping before making a call on a cellphone, a police said. A few minutes late, a second man entered the 7-Eleven armed with a handgun. He jumped over the counter and pointed the handgun at the clerk, demanding the he open the cash register. The firstman then pulled out a handgun, acted as a lookout and also took items from store shelves. The otherman forced the clerk to the floor and placed $200 cash and 50 packs of cigarettes in a backpack.
Both men then fled the store, last seen heading toward the 400 block of Kingsley Street, police said.
No shots were fired, and no injuries were reported in the incident, police said.
Police were able to take one of the suspects into custody after he attempted a similar robbery in Germantown just two days later.
Police responded to a robbery in progress at the T-Mobile store at 35 E. Chelten Ave. at 10:25 a.m. Saturday, May 6, police said. In this incident, two men with handguns entered the store, ordered employees to move to the back of the store and then filled a duffel bag with iPhone and Beats headphones before fleeing in an unknown direction.
Shortly after the robbery, officers observed an occupied vehicle in the area of Walnut Lane and Daniel Street in the Blue Bell Hill neighborhood of Mt. Airy, police said. Following a vehicle investigation, police identified one of the occupants as a suspect in both the Roxborough and Germantown robberies.
Purnell Tyrik, 26, of the 4900 block of Fairmount Avenue in the Mill Creek section of West Philadelphia, has been charged with robbery and related offenses, police said.
Police are still searching for the second man involved in the Roxborough robbery.