Too soon to Cheer police work, but phone might turn crime Tide

A Clifton Heights robber failed to make a clean getaway yesterday when he stopped at a coin laundry after leaving the scene of the grime and borrowed a stranger's cell phone to call his accomplice for a ride.

While Bold, the move was not All that bright. Police were able to Wisk the cell-phone number off the stranger's phone and Gain photos of the pair from video surveillance at the laundry.

Even though the men remained on the lam last night, Clifton Heights Police Chief Walter Senkow was optimistic that they would be caught.

The two males, neither of whom appeared to be older than 19, burst into a residence at the Willows Apartments, on Springfield Road near Jefferson, about 7 a.m., demanding watches, jewelry, money and wallets, police said. Only one of the men was armed, according to Senkow.

Inside were the female resident of the apartment and two male friends visiting from New York, police said.

One of the male victims struggled with the gunman into the hallway, and a shot was fired, Senkow said.

But no one was hurt, and the robbers fled with nothing - the gunman even left without his shoes, which his victim had ripped off during the struggle, police said.

Once outside, one of the robbers jumped into a silver Nissan Altima and left his accomplice to flee on foot in the other direction, according to police.

The man on foot ran to the nearby Squeaky Clean Laundromat, where he borrowed a customer's phone to call his "partner in crime," Senkow said.

His accomplice showed up shortly afterward in a silver car to pick him up, Senkow said.

While police were scouring the apartment complex, a resident who'd been at the Squeaky Clean connected the dots and led police to the man whose cell phone the robber had borrowed.

The number dialed by the robber, which had a New York City area code, was still stored in the phone, Senkow said.

He said that the fact that the apartment guests were from New York City and that the cell-phone number dialed at the laundry was a New York number was "suspicious," but he declined to elaborate.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call Clifton Heights Police at 610-623-3242.