Phila. wants splash-grab suspect

Philadelphia police have issued a warrant for a man arrested Tuesday in New Jersey who is believed to be the ringleader in the recent splash-and-grab robberies in the tri-state area.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force had been following Kareem A. Hutt, 26, on Tuesday, stopping him and two passengers about 2 p.m. as he drove east on Route 30 in Audubon, Camden County, said Capt. John Gallagher with the police Major Crimes Unit.

Hutt drove a burgundy four-door 1996 Nissan Altima, the make noted by witnesses in at least one of the robberies.

Hutt, of Woodlynne, N.J., was with a woman and her 5-year-old child. The woman is being investigated by police but has been released, Gallagher said.

The splash-and-grab robberies stand out because the bandits threw a scalding liquid - either hot coffee or hot chocolate - at counter clerks, and then fled with the cash while the clerk writhed in pain.

Although authorities believe that Hutt and his alleged band of thieves robbed as many as 19 convenience stores in the tri-state area between Feb. 7 and Feb. 21, Hutt was charged with only one robbery in New Jersey and one in Philadelphia, Gallagher said.

Hutt allegedly robbed the Wawa store on Burnt Mill Road in Voorhees, N.J., on Feb. 12, Voorhees investigators said. He also was charged with robbery and aggravated assault in connection with that holdup, said Voorhees Police Lt. Mark Wilson. Hutt was arraigned yesterday morning and could not make $50,000 bail so he was taken to the Camden County Correctional Facility, Wilson said.

Hutt is being investigated in the six other splash-and-grab robberies in South Jersey.

The Philadelphia warrant charges him with the Feb. 13 robbery of the Wawa on Columbus Boulevard near Tasker Street in South Philadelphia.

The charges include robbery, theft, recklessly endangering another person and other crimes, Gallagher said. *