ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA — Two Philadelphia men have been charged with 12 armed robberies — including four in eastern Montgomery County, authorities said.
Russell Mason-Watts and Tyreek Holmes, both of Philadelphia, were arrested and charged with eight armed robberies in Philadelphia and four armed robberies in Montgomery County, including the Express Fuel Mart in Abington Township.
Abington Police said one of those armed robberies took place at 8:03 p.m. on July 24 at the Express Fuel Mart at 2542 Jenkintown Road in the township's Glenside section.
Both suspects wore facial coverings. One suspect was armed with a handgun, while the other carried a sledgehammer, which he used to break open the skills machines and steal the money from inside, police said.
Police said that several similar robberies had recently occurred throughout Philadelphia and Montgomery County and were believed to have been committed by the same suspects.
The joint investigation involved the Abington, Cheltenham, Rockledge, and Springfield police departments and the Philadelphia Police Department.
The two men were identified, and on Sept. 18, search warrants were executed at their homes in Philadelphia. The searches resulted in the recovery of evidence linking both men to the robberies.
They were detained in Philadelphia, where they were arraigned and bail was set at $500,000.00 cash.
Authorities said that Watts and Mason-Holmes will be arraigned on the Montgomery County charges at a later date.
(Abington Township Police Department)
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