Lawndale pizzamaker, top cop praise detective who foiled robbery

IT DOESN'T make a difference if it's pepperoni, mushroom or buffalo chicken stromboli, Detective Mark Flacco's money is no good at Rising Sun Pizza.

A day after Flacco, a 20-year-veteran of the Police Department, shot and killed a robber who held the Lawndale restaurant up at gunpoint Thursday night, the owner, Sam, said the longtime customer will never have to pay for his favorite meal again.

"For the rest of his life, it's free. Stromboli on the house for life," said Sam, 57, who asked that his last name not be published because one robber had not been caught.

Police yesterday said Flacco waged a point-blank gunbattle with the robber while off-duty and waiting for his meal.

The gunman, Andrew Ellerbe, 33, shot first, prompting Flacco to return fire, police said. He hit the robber at least once in the left side of his torso.

After recovering Ellerbe's weapon at the scene, police learned it had been loaded with blanks.

The two suspects fled empty-handed, but Ellerbe collapsed in the store's adjacent parking lot, police said. He was pronounced dead there minutes later.

His accomplice was still on the loose Friday night.

Flacco, identified as the officer involved in the shooting by police sources, is the brother of Chief Inspector Christopher Flacco, the commanding officer of the department's Internal Affairs Bureau.

A detective in the department's Northwest Division, Mark Flacco has been placed on administrative duty, pending the outcome of an investigation of the shooting by Internal Affairs.

A reporter was unable to reach the detective yesterday.

Commissioner Charles Ramsey and Fraternal Order of Police president John McNesby both praised the detective's cool under pressure.

"Not only were his actions appropriate, they were also heroic," Ramsey said yesterday.

McNesby said he didn't expect the story of Flacco's heroics to get the type of national attention that other police-involved shootings have received.

"Cops are cops, 24 hours a day. It's dangerous out there," he said.

McNesby said Flacco, who wasn't wearing a uniform at the time of the incident, would not have had a ballistic vest on.

Meanwhile, Rising Sun Pizza was open for business yesterday, a half-dozen bullet holes in the walls and windows there. Sam, the owner, said he didn't want to show surveillance footage to the Daily News because he "didn't want any more trouble."

He said his 22-year-old son, who was working when the robbers attacked, had the day off.

"My son and the officer talk quite a bit. He's a regular customer, and we're just so grateful he was here," Sam said.

Two police officers entered the restaurant about 1 p.m. yesterday to check up on everyone and told Sam the bandits had tried to rob a nearby bar on Martin's Mill Road before the shooting, but it was too crowded.

Down the street, at the Mill Pub, a bartender said two masked men walked past the bar about 11:30 p.m. Thursday night and slowed up, but kept going.

Patrons said the men seemed suspicious, the bartender said, and police had asked to see surveillance. Police yesterday could not confirm whether Ellerbe and the other suspect had tried to hold up any other businesses before heading to Rising Sun Pizza.

The ordeal inside the pizzeria Thursday night, including the brief but violent shootout, was "all clearly recorded" on the shop's surveillance system, said Chief Inspector Scott Small, who responded to the shooting.

Police provided the following account:

Flacco was the only customer inside when the two robbers burst through the door, demanding money.

Ellerbe held his revolver to Flacco's head, snatched a $20 bill out of his hand, and ordered him to get on the floor.

He complied, watching as the robbers turned their attention to Sam's son and another employee, both of whom were working behind the counter.

Seeing his chance, Flacco drew his Glock handgun and identified himself as a police officer.

Ellerbe turned and fired twice, mere feet from Flacco, initiating the gunbattle that would claim Ellerbe's life.

Friday night, Ellerbe's family gathered at his home, on Garnet Street near Dauphin in North Philly, to mourn.

A woman who answered the door told a reporter that his mother wasn't "ready to talk."

Ellerbe's accomplice who fled into the night was described as a man in his 20s, who wore a dark hoodie and jeans during the robbery attempt.

Investigators did a sweep of every hospital in the city after the robbery, but the suspect didn't turn up, police said yesterday.

As of Friday night, investigators were still searching for him.

Police are asking anyone with information on the second suspect's whereabouts to call 215-686-8477.

Back in Lawndale, Sam said yesterday that he wasn't worried that the shooting would affect his business. Cops are always in and out, and the incident brought in at least one new customer.

"I heard about it on the news," said that customer, Mike Jestrzemski, 58, a SEPTA employee. "I know these types of things can scare away customers, and I wanted to support the business."

On Twitter: @JasonNark