Two Arrested, Gun Recovered as Cops Foil Robbery

Proactive policing and quick action by Lawrence Township officers foiled an armed robbery and led to the arrest of two men and the recovery of a handgun Thursday evening (March 28), authorities have confirmed.

Authorities allege the men – Tyrell Fitzpatrick, 24, of Melrose Lane, Willingboro, and Daniel Potts, 23, of Messenger Lane, Willingboro – were about to rob the AT&T Store in the 1600 block of Princeton Avenue in Lawrence Township when they were interrupted by Police Officer Joseph Radlinsky.

Radlinsky had been keeping the AT&T Store under surveillance in response to what township police believe was an aborted robbery attempt there by Fitzpatrick and Potts on Tuesday (March 26), according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Detective Sgt. Joseph Amodio.

He said store management on Wednesday contacted police to report a “suspicious occurrence” that happened Tuesday night in which two men wearing ski masks – believed by police to be Fitzpatrick and Potts – were observed behind the business around closing time.

Among the actions taken by police was to position Radlinsky in the area to keep a discreet watch on the store, Amodio said.

Nothing happened Wednesday evening, but on Thursday, about 8 p.m., Radlinsky spotted two masked men – later identified as Fitzpatrick and Potts – exit a vehicle parked on Myrtle Avenue and move toward the rear of the AT&T Store, he said.

As other township officers quickly responded to the area as backup, Radlinsky approached the pair, identified himself as a police officer and ordered the men to stop what they were doing. Both men immediately turned and ran, with one sprinting down Myrtle Avenue and the other jumping a chain-link fence and entering the backyard of an adjacent home, Amodio said.

Having already arrived in the neighborhood, other officers – including Daniel Gladney, Michael Whitmore, Marc Caponi, Sgt. Chris Longo and Detective William Chester – established a perimeter and began searching for the men, Amodio said. A police dog from Ewing Township was called in to help with the manhunt.

One of the men was located and taken into custody on nearby Pine Street, Amodio said. He said the second man – having doubled back and gotten into the vehicle on Myrtle Avenue – was spotted and stopped by Gladney before he could get away.

A search of the area turned up two backpacks that Fitzpatrick and Potts had been carrying, Amodio said. Among the items in those backpacks was a semiautomatic handgun, he said.

Fitzpatrick and Potts were each charged with attempted robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, defiant trespass and obstructing the administration of law, and were lodged in the Mercer County Correction Center, according to Amodio.

Amodio said the investigation is continuing and anyone with information about the crime is asked to call township police at (609) 896-1111.