Heist outside swinger's club turns violent as man is pistol-whipped for $30K in NE Philly: police
NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - A heist just outside a swinger’s club in the Northeast turned violent, police say, and the thief is still on the loose.
"Now you’re bringing high-profile criminals around, because they’re getting wind of the kind of cash that’s being used in there," neighbor Brian Murphy stated.
Murphy and fellow neighbors have new concerns about their next door neighbor, the business called Saints and Sinners, after Philadelphia police sources say a 63-year-old man was pistol-whipped in the head as he was held up at gunpoint for $30,000 cash Wednesday morning, just before 9 a.m.
Sources say the robbers were seen on surveillance waiting for the man with the cash to arrive in a red SUV, behind some other businesses nearby.
MORE HEADLINES:
- 3 construction workers killed in work zone crash on Pennsylvania highway: state police
- Caught on camera: Vandal breaks into historic church, destroys property 3 times; takes nothing
- Former teacher, Boy Scout leader charged with sexual assault of a child in Delco; other victims possible
When the 63-year-old victim was in the process of delivering the $30,000 he had in a bag, a man wearing a face mask and a dark-colored hooded shirt approached with a gun, demanded the bag with the money, then hit the man in the head with the gun and took off with the cash.
"How did someone know he had that kind of money with him?" Murphy questioned.
Philadelphia Councilmember Mike Driscoll said, "Depending on what's going on in there, they need access to cash, it looks like, and big amounts of cash. So that's concerning that there's that much cash on premise for future bad people."
Another neighbor, Larry Elliot, talked about the scene when it’s operational, "It’s a full parking lot. Where we're standing right now it's a full parking lot."
FOX 29’s Steve Keeley asked, "And who goes here, as far as you know?"
"It's high-end people, high-end cars in the lot. A lot of cars from out of state. That's a signal, that's a red flag right there," was his reply.
FOX 29 called Saints and Sinners, as well as emailed, but did not receive a reply.
Murphy added, "What they do in there is their own business, but they affect me because of the way they upkeep their property. It’s not upkept at all."
Councilmember Driscoll continued, "The near neighbor and I are gonna ask for a meeting with the ownership team, just to hash out what our concerns area and see if we can get some cooperation."