Robbery duo was 'ready for war,' police say
Cops shot one suspect, continued to search for the other.
A POLICE OFFICER shot one of two suspects in the armed robbery of a Clifton Heights pharmacy Tuesday night, and as cops searched for the man's partner yesterday, they discovered that the duo had four guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a dozen wrist zip ties and a bulletproof vest, police said.
"These guys were ready for war," said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.
About 7:45 p.m., two armed men held up the Westbrook Pharmacy, on Baltimore Avenue near Church Street, and got away with about $30, police said. Witnesses took down the license-plate number of the men's getaway vehicle, a dark Nissan, Chitwood said.
A responding officer from Lansdowne tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver took off and crashed the car into a pole at Long Lane and Locust Street in Upper Darby, police said.
The driver and passenger ran from the crash in different directions and the Lansdowne officer chased after the driver, police said. About a half-block from the crash scene, that suspect pulled a loaded 9 mm handgun on the officer, who, in turn, fired three times at the suspect, hitting him once in the thigh, Chitwood said.
The man then dropped his weapon, was taken into custody and was treated for his injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, police said.
"In my opinion, the shooting is 100 percent legit," Chitwood said. "The officer did a great job."
About 12 Delaware County police departments responded to the scene to search for the missing passenger, he said.
While that suspect remained on the lam, officers found two fully loaded weapons - a .45-caliber semiautomatic gun and a .38-caliber revolver - on the front lawn of a house on Ashby Road near Walnut Street in Upper Darby, Chitwood said. Police believe the weapons belong to the missing suspect.
When police searched the robbers' abandoned vehicle yesterday, they found a .38-caliber revolver in the back seat of the car along with several hundred rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest and a dozen plastic zip ties, which are used as handcuffs, Chitwood said.
Police did not release the name of the man in custody or of his alleged co-conspirator, who remained on the run last night. Clifton Heights police are heading the robbery investigation while the Delaware County District Attorney's Criminal Investigation Division is heading the investigation into the police-involved shooting.