May 31, 2016
Upper Darby police are on the hunt for two men and a getaway driver who went on an armed-robbery spree over the Memorial Day weekend, targeting Hispanics.
Five incidents were reported in 80 minutes – between 1:10 and 2:30 a.m. Sunday – by Hispanics and older men, police said.
“All the victims were physically assaulted and one was shot in the stomach multiple times,” Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. "These guys are bad guys. They are animals. They tried to kill one guy, pistol-whipped two of the victims and sucker-punched another victim knocking him out. Apparently they pick a guy in a bar and follow him home or they were just riding around looking for victims.”
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In all, there were seven victims ranging in age from 24 to 58, primarily Hispanics.
One of the robbers was armed with a gun and the other one had a knife.
According to Chitwood, the robbers stole victim’s wallets, cell phones and money. They were described as black males, late teens, early 20s, wearing hooded jackets.
The incidents were reported at Delco and Golf roads, in the rear of the 200 block of Barrington Road, two on the first block of Richfield Road and one on the unit block of Marlborough Road.
“We believe we’re dealing with three men because two were seen getting out of a dark-colored sedan,” Chitwood said. “We’re seeing more and more Spanish speaking people being victimized. ...”
The chief reported the victims were approached by two males demanding their money or to empty their pockets.
“At the first of the five, one of the robbers said ‘Give me your money, this is a stick-up,’ and just said, ‘Give me your money,’ the other times,” Chitwood said. “We’ve got to get these guys off the street. They are armed and dangerous."
Investigators turned to one of the Spanish-speaking officers employed by Upper Darby to serve as an interpreter in a few of the cases.
“We have an officer that is fluent in Spanish and we were able to get him to the scene to interview victims,” Chitwood said.
The shooting victim, 27, of Upper Darby, was transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital, Philadelphia, for emergency surgery on four gunshot wounds to the back, chest and arm, police said.
Anyone with information on the incidents can call Upper Darby police at 610-734-7677.
