2 Michigan Men Charged In Lower Bucks Comic Store Owner's Beating

LOWER SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, PA —Two Michigan truck drivers are being charged with the violent robbery of a township comic book store in which he was beaten and then tied up during the September 2022 incident, authorities said.

Zackery Maximus Tucker, 22, of Quincy, Mich., was arraigned on Monday on charges of robbery, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Charles D. Jonas and was remanded to Bucks County Correctional Facility under $300,000 bail with 10 percent.

Another man, Caleb James-Lorenze Simpson, 35, of Clarklake, Mich., was also charged in the robbery. He is currently in custody in Michigan pending extradition to Pennsylvania.

The robbery of the Comic Collection store and the attack on the store owner happened at 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2022.

Lower Southampton Township Police Department officers responded to the store at 83 Bustleton Pike in Feasterville for an assault and robbery.

Inside the business, officers found the 61-year-old store owner on the floor, tied and beaten.

Police said the two suspects entered the store pretending to be legitimate customers and asked the store owner to assist them in getting merchandise off a high shelf. When the owner went up a ladder, one male violently knocked him off and he fell to the ground.

The two men began to beat the victim, then tied him up and held a knife to his face threatening to kill him if he did not cooperate. They then pulled two large duffel bags from a backpack and loaded them up with a laptop, the victim’s keys, cash, comic books, Pokémon cards, action figures, and other store merchandise, authorities said.

They also emptied the victim’s wallet and left his credit cards behind. The victim suffered numerous contusions, lacerations, and broken ribs.

Both suspects wore black disposable latex gloves and used black zip ties to secure the victim. The actors left the duffel bags in the woods nearby while being pursued by police. One suspect wore a black hooded sweatshirt, and the second suspect wore a red “Deadpool” T-shirt, authorities said.

The suspect in the black sweatshirt was observed on store video punching the victim with brass knuckles and putting a knife to the victim's face, threatening his life if he did not cooperate. Officers immediately searched the area around the store.

During the search, officers recovered clothing believed to be worn by the suspects, located in the same area as items taken from the store. The clothing was sent to the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab for analysis.

Recovered surveillance footage showed the suspect in the black sweatshirt, removing his hat and sweatshirt, leaving him in a T-shirt and revealing that he had a forearm tattoo that covered his wrist to his elbow.

Over a year later, on Dec. 19. 2023, Lower Southampton Township Police Detective Remo DiLello received a tip that indicated a long-haul trucker named Caleb Simpson and another trucker were behind the comic store robbery.

Simpson was arrested in Michigan three weeks after the robbery for attempting to steal a firearm.

Police contacted the Adrian Township Police Department in Michigan, and they provided photos of Simpson taken during his arrest.

In the photos, Simpson is seen with a second male identified by police as Zackery Tucker. Tucker matched the description as the second robber of the Comic Collection store. The photos also show him wearing what appear to be the same paint-stained boots worn by the second robber, authorities said.

Last month, investigators received results from the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab indicating a DNA match for Simpson to the Comic Collection robbery.

This investigation was conducted by Lower Southampton Township Police Department, led by Detective Remo DiLello, with assistance from the Adrian Township Police Department in Michigan and Pennsylvania State Police.