A man followed and robbed on his way home after buying ice cream
NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - A 75-year-old man's trip to ACME on the Boulevard Saturday night turned into a nightmare when a man followed him home and robbed him in his own driveway in Northeast Philadelphia.
The victim, who didn't want to be identified or interviewed on camera, was returning home from the Acme at Solly and the Boulevard where he went in to buy some ice cream on his scooter. He says he stopped to give a homeless man a dollar from his wallet. Then drove his scooter to his nearby home where police say he was attacked and threatened by the same man.
"He pushed me off the cart. I fell. I start screaming like crazy," the victim recounts. "He took my little wallet with $600, $700 in it."
Authorities say the suspect who attacked and robbed the man is no stranger to police. He's 57-year-old Stephen Jones, a homeless man who hangs out along the boulevard. He has 33 prior arrests. He was busted for shoplifting at Aldi's Sunday and positively identified by the victim in the robbery.
"The way he treated me, the way he went about it. I would have no hesitation to kill him," said the victim.
The victim suffered some pretty nasty bumps and bruises. His wallet, money, credit cards and ID were taken. His scooter was not. He praised the police for nabbing Jones so quickly and preventing anyone else from being victimized.
"He saw the money and he's homeless," the victim said. "He's desperate, he needed the money."