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3 teens charged with robbing 9 area 7-Eleven stores

Published  April 10, 2017 2:35pm EDT
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (WTXF) - A month-long series of armed robberies at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Philadelphia, as well as Montgomery and Bucks counties, may be over.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced three men were arrested Feb. 21 in an unusual way after an armed robbery in Ambler.

The DA's office said, "Upper Dublin police broadcast a description of the two robbers and their accomplice, who was called 'Q' during the robbery, over police radio."

A Whitpain Township police officer "heard the description and headed toward the robbery scene when he observed a car that was being driven as if the vehicle operator was lost."

He stopped the car when the driver didn't use a turn signal and "noticed the occupants matched the robbery suspects' descriptions and he noticed there was a lot of cash visible in the car."

Authorities brought the store clerk to the traffic stop location, and the three men were positively identified and arrested.

That's when the investigation really started.

The DA's office reported detectives from municipalities all over "gathered and analyzed surveillance footage from previous robberies of 7-Eleven stores, conducted interviews, executed search warrants, recovered stolen property, recovered physical evidence, analyzed cellular telephones and analyzed cellular telephone records."

The investigation found the trio "also committed eight additional robberies of 7-Eleven stores in" Bensalem, Bristol, and Warrington, Bucks County; Welsh Road, Ridge Avenue, Broad Street, and Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia; and Glenside, Montgomery County - starting Jan. 21 through Ambler on Feb. 21.

Nazear Newton, 18 of Huntingdon Valley, is charged with criminal conspiracy, robbery, possession of a firearm with altered manufacturer's number, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried without a license, criminal use of a communications facility and other related charges.

Quenton Archie, 19 of Philadelphia, is charged with criminal conspiracy, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, kidnapping, criminal use of a communications facility and other related charges.

Phillip Coleman, 19 of Philadelphia, is charged with criminal conspiracy, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, kidnapping and other related charges.

At first, none were able to post $100,000 bail for the Ambler incident. Now, bail has been set at $1 million each on charges from the eight other robberies. All are being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.