Juveniles arrested in pawn shop thefts

More arrests are expected in a shoplifting scheme involving juveniles where seven long rifles were stolen from a Philadelphia pawn shop.

Three juveniles have been arrested so far, according to Philadelphia Police Detective Shea Elliott.

Philadelphia Police Chief Eric Lyons said, “Right now we are working on identifying others involved and recovering the stolen items.”

Two of the juveniles, Da’marion Thames and Ni’zayvion Robinson, will be charged as adults, Elliott said. 

Thames, 17, of Decatur, was arrested and charged with two counts of grand larceny. 

Robinson, 17, of Newton, was arrested and charged with grand larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny.

The individuals are “no strangers to law enforcement,” according to Elliott.

Elliott said a 13-year-old male from Decatur was also arrested on a conspiracy charge and was released to the custody of his mother.

In total, seven long rifles were reported stolen from Philadelphia Gun and Pawn on Posey Avenue in the scheme over several days.

Lyons said the firearms were taken during several incidents but were reported on the afternoon of Jan. 2 at about 3 p.m. when employees noticed some inventory was missing and checked the store’s security camera recordings.

Lyons said two rifles have been recovered, and they hope to recover the rest as soon as possible. 

“Some of the weapons have already been sold on the streets,” Lyons said. “We plan to have those recovered as well.”

Lyons said camera footage showed several males entering the business and taking the rifles.

The video evidence shows the individuals came in on several occasions within a week and stole, according to Lyons.

Employees noticed the same individuals return to the store last week “possibly to steal again,” Lyons said. Police responded and made contact with four individuals, Lyons said. 

Three were taken into custody, and a fourth, Thames, ran, got into a vehicle and fled the scene. 

Officers got a vehicle description and tag number and alerted Newton County officials where the vehicle was believed to be headed. 

That vehicle was stopped by the Newton County Sheriff's Department in Newton where four more individuals were taken into custody for questioning.

The suspects were brought back to the Philadelphia Police Department, Lyons said. 

After interviewing and gathering additional information, Lyons said Thames and Robinson were charged along with the 13-year-old. He said the others were released after confirming they had no involvement in the crime.

“Two others are being sought in connection to the thefts as well,” Lyons said.

Anyone with information on this or other crimes should call CrimeStoppers at 1-855-485-8477 or PPD at (601) 656-2131.