Pair booked for armed robbery in Northeast Philly

1PAIR BOOKED FOR ARMED ROBBERY

Two men were arrested Saturday morning shortly after they robbed a Best Buy store in Northeast Philadelphia at gunpoint and tied up a store employee, according to police.

Shawn Knight and Mileek Danao were waiting in a gray Chevy Impala in the parking lot of the Best Buy, on Roosevelt Boulevard near Red Lion Road, when a manager and two employees arrived to open the store about 6:45 a.m., police said. The men forced the workers inside the store at gunpoint, police said, then bound one of the employees with plastic handcuffs and forced the manager to open the safe.

They ran away with an undetermined amount of cash and merchandise, leaving their car behind, police said. Knight, 22, of Algon Avenue near Faunce Street, was arrested about five minutes after the robbery and less than a mile away on Hardy Street near Dungan Road, police said. Danao, 20, of Sharpnack Street near Mansfield Avenue, was nabbed about 8:15 a.m. on Wistaria Street near Cornwell Avenue, a little more than a mile from the scene, police said. Both men face robbery and related charges. Police said that nothing that was stolen from the store was recovered when the men were arrested.

2MAN CHARGED

WITH ARSON

A man was arrested this weekend and charged with setting fire to his girlfriend's Nicetown home early Saturday, police said.

The 48-year-old man, whose name was not released, was nabbed around the corner from the blaze, which broke out about 4:30 a.m. on Roberts Avenue near Germantown. Police said that he was charged with arson and related offenses, but they did not release a motive.

The suspect's 38-year-old girlfriend was treated for minor burns at Temple University Hospital and was listed in stable condition, according to police. Her mother and son, who also lived at the house, escaped the fire unharmed, police said.

3$1.2M COKE BUST IN BUCKS COUNTY

Bucks County authorities said that they discovered $1.2 million worth of cocaine in the car of a New York City man who was pulled over during a traffic stop Saturday.

Nestor Luis Merced-Calderon, 32, was stopped in Bensalem for a GPS unit that a cop believed was blocking his view, according to police. Officers searched his 2004 Volvo and found 26 pounds of cocaine and $3,000 in cash, according to police. Merced-Calderon was taken to the Bucks County Prison in lieu of $8 million bail.

4TEEN CHARGED WITH KILLING BOY

An 18-year-old man wanted for allegedly shooting a 10-year-old boy to death in Delaware on Wednesday turned himself in to state police early yesterday.

Obadiah Miller surrendered shortly after midnight and was charged with first-degree murder and related offenses. Miller allegedly shot Lionel Butler about 5:30 p.m. on the street where the boy lived in Magnolia, Del., which is about seven miles south of Dover, police said.

Authorities said that a group of neighborhood kids were in the area when Miller pulled a gun and fired, striking the boy in the chest.

5COPS: MAN LEFT INFANT IN CAR

A Newark, Del., man who went to a store Saturday to return an item left his 4-month-old son alone in his running car for at least 25 minutes, Delaware State Police said.

William Moultrie, 40, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after his infant was found alone in the car about 6:25 p.m. at the Sears Outlet on Eagle Run Road, police said. State troopers responded and Moultrie didn't return to his car until 6:50 p.m. He told the troopers that he had been returning an item and thought it would take only five minutes, according to police.The infant was turned over to a relative, police said.

- Staff and wire reports