Robber kills accomplice 
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Philadelphia Inquirer (newspaper)
Posted on Sat, Jul. 20, 2002
an kills accomplice in 'sloppy' robbery
As the men were chased by workers from a Phila. business, one fired the shot. He then fled with $4,000.
By Thomas J. Gibbons Jr.
Inquirer Staff Writer
He died with his mask on.
He was a robber who, along with a partner, pulled a job outside a Northern Liberties sheet-metal business, making off with the company payroll yesterday afternoon, police said.
He was shot and killed by his accomplice when the accomplice turned and fired shots at workers who were chasing them. His bandanna-mask still partially obscuring his face, he collapsed and died in an alley alongside Uni-Pro Inc., in the 1000 block of North Second Street. A bullet had pierced his head. A handgun was found near his body.
The man remained unidentified last night, and his accomplice was on the loose.
"It's a robbery that got sloppy," said Capt. Lou Campione of the 26th Police District.
About 2:15 p.m. yesterday, a worker at the business returned from a bank with more than $4,000, which she had received after cashing employees' paychecks for them, police said. While she was parking a white Plymouth Neon in the company parking lot on the Second Street side of the business, the two gunmen held her up.
"They accosted her and took the money she had in her handbag, which was the payroll," said Lt. Joseph Maum of the Homicide Division. The woman, who was not identified, screamed and threw a steering-wheel-locking device at the pair as they fled. The scream brought out workers who gave chase.
"One of the males turned, fired once," Maum said. "He struck his partner in the head. "The partner's now dead."
Damon McCandless, 25, said he was sitting on the front steps of his house less than a block away when he heard the gunfire.
"I heard the shot. [It] sounded like a .22- or .25-caliber gun, and then a big gun went off," McCandless said.
He said he made his way to the scene and saw the body.
"The guy who's dead, his gun is laying next to him. It's a silver revolver," McCandless said.
cCandless's sister, Monica, 20, also got up close.
"He still had the mask on," she said. "It was covering his mouth."
The other robber, who continued running after the shooting, dropped his bandanna mask in the 200 block of Wildey Street, a short distance from the business.
Police recovered the mask and some shell casings. Investigators also were checking to determine whether any workers at the business fired weapons.
Police removed the gunman's body for the trip to the Medical Examiner's Office about 4:10 p.m. There, it will be fingerprinted in an attempt to identify the man.
Submitted on 07/20/2002
Submitted by:
Robert Focht
Reference:
Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/20/02
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