String of Armed Robberies Ring in the New Year

Norristown has always had its share of crime (some would say more than its fair share), but with less than two weeks under our belts in 2012, a string of armed robberies have being reported to police.

It started on New Year's Day, when a 46 year-old Roslyn man, in Norristown to visit his parents, and his cousin were robbed at gunpoint on the 1000 block of DeKalb Street shortly after 4:30 a.m.

According to , the two victims were in a neighboring apartment with two other men – “Kevin” and “Clinton.” One of the men reportedly accused the Roslyn man of stealing $100 and began hitting him in the head, arm and leg with a hard plastic pipe.

When the Roslyn man ran outside, the two suspects produced guns and allegedly took $300, two cell phones and a hooded sweatshirt from the victims.

You can read more about this incident here on The Times Herald's website.

According to a police report, on Tuesday, Jan. 3, shortly after 9 p.m., a 50-year-old Norristown man reported being assaulted and robbed as he was getting out of his car on the 800 block of Cherry Street.

According to the victim, two black males approached him and demanded money. One was holding what the victim believed to be a gun. When he refused to give the men anything, the suspect holding the suspected firearm hit the victim in the head with it. The other suspect then went through the victim's pocket and took his Blackberry.

The victim fell to the ground and the two suspects reportedly punched him repeatedly in the face and head. The victim was able to get up and flee the scene to a nearby store where he had an employee call the police.

Another victim was robbed by an armed suspect on Saturday, Jan. 7, shortly before 4:30 a.m. on the 200 block of Stanbridge Street.

According to reports, the victim was approached by a black male between the ages of 20 and 25, 6' 2" tall, around 170 pounds wearing a black hooded jacket and jeans. The suspect asked to use the victim's cellphone and he handed the man the phone. The victim told police that while his back was turned, he heard what sounded like a gun being cocked and when he turned to face the suspect he was pointing a silver semiautomatic handgun at the victim.

The armed man ordered the victim to turn back around, and empty his pockets onto the ground. The victim reportedly removed a Metro PCS cellphone, a watch, $40 cash and a set of keys and placed them on the ground. The suspect then instructed the victim to walk toward Main Street and not look back. While the victim complied, the gunman ran away.

On Sunday, Jan. 8, just before 4:30 a.m., officers responded to for a report of a gunshot victim. At the hospital a 23-year-old woman told police that her 19-year-old boyfriend had been shot in the vicinity of Elm Street and Maple Alley.

The Philadelphia man had reportedly gone to the car to retrieve something before the two headed out to the local and when the woman came outside she found him walking back to her home on Cherry Street. The victim told the woman he had been shot in a robbery attempt.

The man later told police at the hospital that he didn’t know what happened and could not describe the shooter. The victim was reportedly transferred to Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia to undergo surgery.

A search of the wounded man’s car later in the day revealed plastic bags in the center console filled with suspected drug packaging material and $450 tucked into the passenger side visor.

That same day, at around 10 a.m., a 25-year-old Norristown man was accosted by an armed black male, 6' tall, thinly built and wearing a black jacket, jeans and a blue hooded sweatshirt at Kohn and Elm streets as he got into his car. The suspect allegedly went through the victim’s pocket and took a cellphone and a wallet containing $300. The suspect then reportedly fled on Elm Street to Haws Avenue.

You can read more about these three incidents here on The Times Herald's website.

The is asking anyone with information about these crimes to call 610-270-0977.