Cops: Robber in monkey mask meant business
The bandit put on his mask half-way through the hold-up and managed to lock himself inside the check cashing place he was robbing before fleeing with $18,500
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A ROBBER who made off with $18,500 from an Upper Darby check-cashing agency late last month only put on his "monkey style mask" about halfway through the crime, giving the victim ample opportunity to study the robber's face and provide a description to a sketch-composite artist, police said.
On top of failing to properly mask himself throughout the duration of the crime, the bumbling suspect also managed to lock himself inside of the check-cashing business and required his victim's help to get out, according to police.
Though the masked robber made some major missteps, Upper Darby police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said this was no monkey business.
"This is a stone-cold holdup man," he said. "Fortunately, nobody got hurt, but if he had a gun and he grabbed $18,500, you know he was watching and planning."
The 35-year-old owner of Girard Check Cashing on Marshall Road near Lamport had just closed the store around 7 p.m. Oct. 28 and was at his car, which was parked behind the business, when he was approached by a black man in his 30s who was about 6-feet tall and had a small beard, police said. The man had a gun and forced the victim back into the business, according to police.
Once inside the store, the robber put on a "monkey style mask," according to the police report, and forced the victim to give him the $18,500 that was in the safe.
The robber then forced the store owner into the bathroom, but when the thief then tried to flee the store, he was foiled by several locks and had to return to the bathroom to ask the store owner to help him open the doors.
That must have been an awkward conversation.
Once the victim unlocked the doors, the robber escaped in an unknown direction.
This week, the Upper Darby police were able to find a sketch-composite artist who worked with the victim to develop this sketch.
The Upper Darby Police Foundation and the victimized store owner are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest.
If you think you might recognize the suspect, or if you have any tips about the crime, please call Upper Darby police at 610-734-7686.
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