Detectives kept plenty busy last year investigating a crook who broke into neighborhood stores in North Philly, South Philly and Germantown, and used a blow torch to bust open ATM machines inside the shops. Police said they finally got their man on Jan. 16, when Robert Barber, 24, was arrested and charged with committing seven of the burglaries. The following day, Barber, of 29th Street near Master, was back on the streets the next day. Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said Barber needed only to post $1,000 bail -- even though he stole thousands of dollars in cash, lotto cards and cigarettes during his crime spree.
Call me a loon but this isn't newsworthy. Prisons are overcrowded enough....plus, his crimes were strictly property and involved no physical harm of any other person. Just saying...peace— br567rj- you have a point........ br567rj— lafrance
Comment removed.- Tommyxyz, if you read the article you'd know he targeted commercial properties, thus the "ATM bandit" dub. By law it is less severe than a residential burglary. Peace brother— br567rj
Dana DiFilippo has covered murder, mayhem and miscellany at the Daily News since 2000. She grew up in Delaware County and studied journalism and photography at Penn State University. E-mail tips to difilid@phillynews.com.
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Stephanie Farr has been reporting for the Daily News since 2007, covering everything from gay porn stars who entered the burglary business to moon trees, skinheads, murders and naked bike rides. She covers crime, both in the city and suburbs, and keeps clippings of bizarre Associated Press articles. Her favorite this year was the story about the drunk in Punxsutawney who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead opossum. E-mail tips to farrs@phillynews.com.
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Phillip Lucas joined the Daily News crime team in 2011. He grew up on the mean streets of Seattle and studied journalism and psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Before landing in the City of Brotherly Love, Phillip was a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. Email tips to lucasp@phillynews.com.
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Morgan Zalot is the newest crime reporter at the Daily News, starting in 2011 after interning at the paper twice as a Temple University journalism student. In her past stints at the DN, she covered just about everything, from drunken Phillies fans to a barber shop in a high school to a grisly murder-suicide. She’s a born-and-raised Philly girl who grew up in the Northeast. E-mail tips to zalotm@philly.com.
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To send news tips, breaking news pictures or other thoughts to the Philly Confidential team, email phillyconfidential@phillynews.com.- Attytood
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