Suspect in custody in connection to deadly robberies in Philadelphia, Delaware

FOX 29's Steve Keeley has the latest details on a man suspected of deadly robberies in Philadelphia and Delaware.

PHILADELPHIA - A suspect is in custody in the shooting death of a Dunkin Donuts store manager in the city's Fairhill neighborhood. Police sources tell FOX 29 he is also a suspect in a similar incident last month in Delaware and could be connected to other attacks.

Authorities in Wilmington say Keith Gibson, 39, was taken into custody Tuesday morning after a robbery at a Rite Aid. Gibson allegedly pistol-whipped and shot at a female employee before fleeing. FOX 29's Dave Schratwieser reports that the female employee was able to throw a GPS tracker into the bag that Gibson ran off with, helping lead police to him.

The Wilmington Police Department said Gibson was found on the 800 block on West 5th Street with a ballistic vest, a loaded firearm, a knife, and narcotics. He was taken into custody and charged with a number of crimes including first-degree robbery and possession of a deadly weapon, according to police.

Sources say Gibson has also been identified by police as a suspect in the fatal shooting of Christine Lugo, 41, a Dunkin' Donuts manager. Lugo was shot and killed inside the store on 500 block of Lehigh Avenue shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday morning, according to police.

Police say Lugo had complied with demands to retrieve cash from the back office before she was shot and killed.

Now investigators are focused on Gibson in the murder of Elsmere, Delaware phone store manager and mother of two Leslie Basilio, 28, back in May.

Basilio, the manager at a T-Mobile Store, was forced inside her store on the 900 block of Kirkwood Highway in Elsmere around 5 a.m. on Saturday, May 15. Once inside, police say she was robbed and shot in the head.

Sources also say that a Cadillac Escalade was stolen from Basilio after the shooting and found a week later, just a few blocks from the scene of Lugo's murder.

Authorities have said there were multiple similarities between the two killings, including the fact that both women were working alone during the early morning hours when they were robbed and shot.

Police sources say Philly homicide detectives are also looking at Gibson in the murder of his own mother whose body was discovered in her East Falls office back in February. According to sources, he surfaced then as a possible suspect but was never arrested.

Gibson has not been formally charged.

___

RELATED COVERAGE:

Woman killed during Fairhill Dunkin' robbery, reward offered in search for suspect

SUV belonging to Metro by T-Mobile store employee killed in robbery found in Philadelphia area