A former McDonald’s employee and an alleged accomplice have been charged with stealing $10,000 from a Cottman Avenue restaurant late last month.
Police said a third person still is being sought, and city detectives and Abington authorities are looking at a similar robbery that occurred at a McDonald’s in that Montgomery County township.
The Philadelphia robbery began at 5:10 a.m. on Aug. 29 when a young man wearing an Adidas sweat shirt entered the McDonald’s at 2809 Cottman Ave. and ordered some food. He sat down to eat it and was joined by another man, who took out a gun and forced the shift supervisor to open the restaurant’s safe. They went outside to a car and drove away. Both robbers were black, police said.
The Abington restaurant at 1663 Old York Road was hit at 6:05 a.m. on Sept. 17. Police said three men were involved and forced the manager to take money from a safe. Police in both municipalities released descriptions of the robbers and asked for the public’s assistance.
Janine Dunn, 26, was taken into custody late on Sept. 20, Sgt. Dennis Rosenbaum of Northeast Detectives said Monday. Dunn, who was a McDonald’s employee, allegedly was the getaway driver in the Aug. 29 robbery, the sergeant said.
Acting on a tip, police had gone to Dunn’s residence on the 5200 block of Oxford Ave. She was visiting her mother’s house on the 1400 block of Stirling St., Rosenbaum said, and called police to ask why they were at her home. Police told her they wanted to talk to her, asked where she was, went there and arrested her, he said.
When 25-year-old Darnell Outlaw of Southwest Philadelphia went to Dunn’s apartment early Sept. 21, he was arrested. Rosenbaum said Outlaw was the man who first went into the Cottman Avenue McDonald’s and ordered food. Dunn and Outlaw have been charged with robbery and related offenses.
The second man in Aug. 29 robbery had not been named and is still being sought, Rosenbaum said.
To view the surveillance video of the Aug. 29 crime, visit The Philadelphia Police YouTube Channel or visit http://www.phillypolice.com/news
To submit a tip via telephone, dial 215–686-TIPS (8477), or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847, or contact Northeast Detectives at 215–686–3153.
Anyone with information about the Abington robbery can call Detective Ed Quinn at 267–536–1103 or 1–877-APD-TIPS. ••
