Convenience stores
targeted by coffee splashers

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Convenience stores throughout the Delaware Valley are tightening up security and closing ranks as a result of a series of so-called splash-and-grab robberies in recent weeks.
Bandits have struck at stores from Levittown, Bucks County, to Wilmington, Del., and everywhere in between on both sides of the river — including one in the Northeast — since the rash of 20 heists began on Feb. 7, Philadelphia police say.
Typically, one or more males will enter the store, prepare a cup of hot coffee or cocoa and throw it into the face of the cashier before snatching cash from the register.
The crimes have netted the bandits anywhere from $50 to $300 each, police said.
At least one store employee has suffered third-degree burns in the attacks. Police fear that more injuries may occur or that the violence may escalate if the crooks are able to continue their spree.
"There’s definitely a serious concern in law enforcement in the tri-state area because of the nastiness of these jobs," Capt. John Gallagher of the major crimes unit told reporters last Thursday.
The major crimes unit is coordinating the investigation for jurisdictions throughout the region. At the time of the news conference, police had received reports of 19 similar crimes. According to a police source, an additional heist occurred in New Jersey on Thursday.
A 7-Eleven at Harbison Avenue and Tulip Street in East Frankford was robbed in the same manner on Feb. 10 shortly before 5 a.m.
A store manager, citing a corporate directive, refused to allow the victimized clerk to speak to a news reporter. Similarly, a manager for another targeted 7-Eleven, at Mascher and Loudon streets in Feltonville, said that he had been instructed not to talk to the news media.
A Texas-based corporate spokeswoman for 7-Eleven said that the company has sent three different advisories in poster form to its stores throughout the tri-state area. Most stores are individually owned franchises.
The company is unaware of any similar crime patterns in the past, the spokeswoman said. 7-Eleven and Wawa have jointly posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the bandits.
One of the store advisories details the crooks’ method. The suspects generally have their faces partially covered around the chin, mouth and forehead areas, it states. Suspects usually wear heavy, dark-colored coats and gloves.
They generally wait until other customers have left the store, even if they have to linger in other areas of the store before approaching the cashier. Suspects usually start to pay for the coffee or hot cocoa beverage to get the register drawer open.
That’s when they splash the hot beverage onto the cashier.
Descriptions of the suspects have varied, Philadelphia police have said. Generally, the males have been black and in their early 20s. Surveillance photos of a Feb. 13 robbery in South Philadelphia show one man wearing a dark ski cap and coat, with another man wearing a hooded coat and scarf over his mouth and chin.
Investigators aren’t sure if the same individuals are responsible for all of the crimes, if different robbers are operating as part of a larger group or if some of the crimes can be attributed to copycat crooks.
Further, 7-Eleven has advised its employees to keep cash levels low inside the register, no more than $30, and to drop all large bills into the store’s safe. Clerks should also have a panic button at hand at all times to alert authorities in case of a crime or suspicious activity.
The frequency of the crimes and relatively small amounts of cash stolen from the stores have led police to theorize that the perpetrators may be feeding a drug habit, Gallagher explained.
Call 911 to report information about the crimes. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com