Abington Township Police Department Photo by James Short.
In addition, police said, the man destroyed in-car cameras by ripping at wiring.
Abington Police Department, working with Philadelphia Police, as well as both county district attorneys, were able to track down two car thieves who’d stolen two different cars in the same day.
On Sept. 18, around 11:35 a.m., Philadelphia police responded to a parking lot in the 100 block of East Olney Avenue in the city to a report of a robbery of a vehicle, said reports. A woman, 54, said that she worked nearby and was sitting in her 2018 Nissan Rouge in her driver’s seat when she was approached by three black males, police said.
The woman said that the males told her to “Get the [expletive deleted] out of the car,” numerous times, so she got out of her car while holding the keys, police said. Reports stated that one of the suspects then grabbed her keys from her hand and used them to steal the car.
Around 12:08 p.m. that same day, Abington Police responded to report of a robbery of a vehicle at the Michael’s store, located at 1411 Old York Road, within the township, when a woman, 26, said that she was walking in the store’s lot when a dark-colored vehicle pulled behind her. Reports stated that a male told the woman to give him the car, but she continued walking when she was grabbed from behind by two males.
Police said the males grabbed the woman, wrapping hands around her body, neck, and face, as she struggled to break free, and they ripped the woman’s bag from her, which held her car keys, wallet, and other property. The men then used the keys from the bag to steal the car, police reported.
According to reports, the two males then fled in the woman’s Chevy Trax and were followed by those in the Nissan Rogue, though the woman was able to use her phone to get a photo of the Rogue’s license plate.
The woman suffered minor injuries, according to the report. Police said they were, however, able to use automated license plate reading technology to find the two cars traveling southbound on Old York Road in Abington. The cars, reports stated, were traveling within two second of each other, heading into Philadelphia at the same time.
The Trax owner was able to utilize a GPS tracking app to locate the whereabouts of the car, which was followed by plain-clothed Abington and Philadelphia police officers. Two Abington officers in an unmarked vehicle were able to locate the stolen vehicle near Tabor Road and Masher Street in Philadelphia around 12:30 p.m., reports said. When the driver of the stolen Trax realized they were being followed, police said that they fled police and a vehicle pursuit ensued.
According to reports, the Trax was soon driven into a curb and both males, a driver and front-seat passenger, fled the vehicle on foot. Abington officers saw the faces and clothing of both males, police said. As the two ran, they passed through a wooded area and attempted to climb a fence, reports said. In the process of running, both the car keys and a shoe of the passenger were dropped.
With the use of multiple police officers and K-9 units, the wooded area was surrounded and searched. Around 1:56 p.m., officers were flagged down by a female who said her son was approached by two males as he walked to his car, police said. The victim’s mother showed police the direction in which the men fled after her son pulled away, and police were then alerted by a witness that the two males were hiding in a nearby bush, said reports.
Police then arrested Rashawn Amin Williams, 18, of the 5500 block of North American Street in Philadelphia, and a juvenile male was also taken into custody. Williams, while being transported in an Abington patrol car, also managed to get his handcuffs from the rear of his body to the front, then grabbing at wires that run from the vehicle to a camera in the rear, caged area, police said. Damages valued under $5,000 were caused by the action, said reports.
Police have filed charges in both robberies against Williams. He is being held in a Montgomery County Correctional Facility unable to post a monetary bail of $99,000. He is due to face Magisterial District Judge John D. Kessler on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. for a preliminary hearing. Williams was charged with two felony counts each of robbery of a motor vehicle and conspiracy to rob a motor vehicle, four felony counts of robbery inflicting harm or bodily injury, two for theft by unlawful taking, two receiving stolen property, as well as misdemeanor counts of evading arrest, simple assault, theft receiving stolen property, and institutional vandalism.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
