More than a thousand dollars in cash an merchandise recovered, police say
An Upper Darby man faces burglary charges after police say they caught him in the act trying to rob a business in the 8800 block of West Chester Pike.
According to a criminal complaint, Upper Darby police officers were dispatched around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, for a burglary in progress at Alpha Smokes, 8813 West Chester Pike.
Patrol officers arrived and found the window pane of the front door of the business had been removed, according to the complaint. Officer Teindat Vu announced police presence and ordered anyone inside to come out with his hands up. There was no response from inside the building.
While still outside the building, Lt. Steven Tarozzi saw someone lying on the ground next to the counter and ordered him to surrender.
Police also saw an assault rifle on the counter, which officers quickly grabbed, according to the report. The suspect said the rifle was not his and that he had found it in the back of the store.
The suspect, whom police identified as Andrew Wendell White, 59, was taken into custody without further incident.
Upper Darby police Detective Kevin Gamber wrote in the criminal complaint that he reviewed store security footage in which White can be seen entering through the locked front door after removing the window pane. He is seen picking up the rifle, which he found in the store’s back office, and putting goods and money into a black trash bag, according to the complaint.
Gamber wrote that he found the trash bag, which contained $751 cash and merchandise valued at $651.50.
White is charged with burglary, felony trespassing, two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of theft, one misdemeanor count of possession of an instrument of crime and one summary offense of destruction of property.
He is being held in the Delaware County jail after failing to post bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 19.
