Police question teen in Overbrook robberies

A 15-year-old boy is considered a person of interest in a string of armed robberies in Overbrook, police said.

The teen was arrested last night at his grandmother's home in the Woodcrest Condominiums, on Woodcrest Avenue near 75th Street, Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives said today.

He's been charged with receiving stolen property after police discovered he was in possession of a cellphone taken Jan. 21 during a robbery in which a woman was held up at knifepoint on Malvern Avenue near 75th Street.

"We believe the robber is still out there," Walker said. "The investigation is ongoing; at this point, we can't say [the 15-year-old] is a suspect."

The teen was questioned yesterday and remains in custody at the city's Juvenile Justice Services Center in West Philadelphia.

That incident Jan. 21 is one of six that police believe were committed by the same individual, believed to a male between the ages of 16 and 19, police said.

In those incidents, the robber approached women and demanded money from them while brandishing a knife. In one instance, the robber choked the victim from behind and threatened to shoot her. After each robbery, the male fled into the wooded area near the Cobbs Creek Golf Club, on Lansdowne Avenue near 74th, Walker said.

A knife believed to be the weapon used in the robberies was recovered after the most recent incident, which occurred early yesterday on Lansdowne Avenue near 75th Street, Walker said.