Police, with the assistance of a witness who provided critical information, as well as forensic testing, identified a suspected bank robber who left empty-handed.
Raheem X. White, 22, of the 200 block of Wabash Avenue, Lansdowne, was arraigned Friday for a Nov. 16, 2009 incident inside Bank of America, 3100 Garrett Road, Drexel Hill.
“A person approached the counter in full Muslim garb, and gave a note to the teller and a bag,” police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. “The note said, ‘fill up the bag with money. No dye pack and no GPS.’
“The woman says she’s not a teller and doesn’t have any money. She handed back the note and the bag and the person ran out the door.”
The description of the suspect provided was a black male, wearing a gray burqa, sometimes worn by Muslim women, knitted gloves and black and white Converse sneakers.
“Because a witness noticed a man running down a driveway, he informed police, who found the face-covering allegedly worn by the suspect,” Chitwood said.
The piece of cloth was submitted to Pennsylvania State Police for analysis of DNA evidence.
In January, police were notified of a match in the database allegedly linking White to the attempted bank robbery.
After being contacted, White surrendered to police and admitted entering the bank and presenting a demand note to the teller.
"(Criminal Investigator Kevin) Dinan and (Officer Joseph) Dougherty did a great job,” Chitwood said. “This is a perfect example of a witness coming forward, getting involved and how much easier it is for us to solve a crime. We found the headgear worn because somebody saw something suspicious. Unfortunately, the turnaround time was almost 14 months to get the results from state police because of lack of resources.”
Magisterial District Judge Christopher Mattox arraigned White Friday on charges of criminal attempt robbery, theft, simple assault, terroristic threats and possessing instruments of crime.
He was released on $50,000 unsecured bail pending a preliminary hearing March 11 in district court.