A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading police to the men who have followed casino patrons home and robbed them.
In announcing the reward Sept. 21, police said they believe the robbers used a spotter who watched victims cash out their chips and relayed their descriptions to others, who then followed them and robbed them outside their homes.
Victims are from North Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, Upper Moreland Township and South Philly, Sgt. Dennis Rosenbaum of Northeast Detectives said Monday.
Police have the spotter in the last five robberies on surveillance tape from the SugarHouse casino on Delaware Avenue. He is seen watching the casino’s cash-out window and talking on a cell phone.
“It’s the same guy,” Rosenbaum said.
The robberies began in December 2011, he said, and all involved two black men. Although victims’ descriptions of the robbers’ heights varied, they were all thought to be 25 to 30 years old. A late model silver Monte Carlo and a late-model small silver sedan appear to be used in the robberies, Rosenbaum said.
Most of the victims were of Asian descent, Rosenbaum said, and were coming home from SugarHouse.
During the two most recent robberies, the criminals were armed with Tasers.
On Sept. 16, a Rawle Street woman was accosted by two men, robbed of $8,000 in cash and jewelry and Tasered, police said. Rosenbaum said the woman was hospitalized because she was pregnant.
The Welsh Road robbery occurred two days later at about 4 a.m. Again, two men armed with a Taser were the culprits.
While fighting to keep her purse from the robbers, the woman was slightly cut, Rosenbaum said, but police aren’t sure if she was cut by a knife or by her own keys.
Police have released some of the casino surveillance footage and are asking for the public’s assistance.
To view the surveillance video: Visit The Philadelphia Police YouTube Channel or visit http://phillypolice.com/news.
To submit a telephone tip, dial 215–686-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847. Rosenbaum said tips also can be phoned in to detectives John Harrigan or Joseph Baird at 215–686–3153 or 3154.
Reporter John Loftus can be reached at 215–354–3110 or jloftus@bsmphilly.com.
