Posted on Mon, Jul. 6, 2009
It started off as a bank hold-up and ended with the suspect being pulled out of the ceiling of a La-Z-Boy furniture store in Marlton.
The incident began today around 2 p.m. when an armed man robbed a TD Bank along Route 73 in Voorhees and fled on a bicycle to hide out behind the dumpsters in the back parking lot of a veterinarian, Evesham Police Lt. Walt Miller said. A canine unit followed him there. A foot chase ended with the man entering La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, 981 Route 73 South, at around 2:30 p.m., Miller said.
Miller said the one customer and about five employees inside the store were evacuated. After authorities tried for more than two hours to get the man to surrender, a S.W.A.T. team entered the building and found the man - now unarmed - had climbed into the rafters. The team helped him get down, and he surrendered around 5 p.m., Miller said.
Meanwhile, during the standoff, traffic in both directions along Route 73 was stopped, leading to long lines of cars at the intersection with Evesham Road.
MOST POPULAR PHILLY.COM PHOTOS
Philly.com Promotions
