Philadelphia Police arrested two men accused of robbing more than a dozen businesses in the city’s Wyoming Avenue area.
Acia Moore, 20, was arrested on Dec. 6 and charged with robbery, criminal conspiracy and other related offenses.
Omar White-Davis, 28, was arrested on Dec. 9 and charged with robbery, violation of the uniform firearms act and other related offenses.
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Police said Moore and White-Davis were both involved in at least 13 armed robberies at several businesses in the area, including a food and deli market on the 4500 block of North D Street, another business on the 2000 block of East Tioga Street and a business on 2000 East Pacific Street.
Both men live in the same area where the robberies took place, police said.
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“We just kind of had a feeling that he was from the neighborhood and the way he was targeting all the stores so close to each other,” Giselle Poveda, the owner of Cafe Tinto, which was one of the targeted businesses, told NBC10.
Police said they were able to capture both suspects thanks to the community and extensive surveillance footage.
Poveda told NBC10 the Wyoming Avenue business owners are now working together to prevent future crimes.
“We created a group chat on WhatsApp so that we can be connected and know each other and have a relationship with each other,” Poveda said.
Police urged other business owners in the neighborhood to speak up if they were the victim of a crime.
“If these incidents go unreported then we can’t put that presence that we did once we found out,” Philadelphia Police Captain Javier Rodriguez said. “Your status does not matter. If you were a victim of a crime you need to report it to us.”
Police said a third suspect may have also been involved in the robberies but that person has not yet been identified.
If you have any information on the robberies or suspects, please call Philadelphia Police.
