A third man charged in the alleged attempted robbery of sneakers and robbery of a purse inside a car outside a Towamencin Township Wawa has been arrested and arraigned by authorities.
Andrew Leighton Metzler, 20, of the 500 block of Lamplighter Road, Horsham, was charged in June by Towamencin Township detectives with and arraigned Nov. 25 on felony counts of robbery by force and conspiracy to commit robbery by force, and misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property, according to court records.
One of the two other accomplices was a fugitive from Norristown named Levi Josiah Carroll, 20, of the 200 block of New Street.
He was arrested, arraigned on two counts each of robbery-inflicting immediate bodily injury and robbery-taking property by force, and misdemeanor charges of assault and theft by unlawful taking, and released on $50,000 unsecured bail in November, per court documents.
A third suspect with an extensive history of crime, Chase Peklak, 19, of the 500 block of Hoffman Road, Lower Salford, had a conspiracy robbery by inflicting or threatening bodily injury charge withdrawn at a July preliminary hearing, according to court records. However, Peklak faces a felony count of conspiracy to commit robbery in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
On March 31, at 6:50 p.m., police responded to the 200 Forty Foot Road Wawa for a reported fight inside a blue Nissan Altima, with the caller reporting a man exited a white Chevrolet Malibu with front-end damage and entered the Nissan, per the complaint.
The victim told police they had arranged a meeting through Facebook Marketplace to sell a pair of $300 sneakers to Carroll at the Wawa, police said. Surveillance footage from Wawa shows a white Chevrolet Malibu entering the lot at 6:42 p.m., driven by Peklak, parking a couple stalls away from the Nissan, police said.
The victim told police that Peklak and a Metzler had ski masks on, but he noticed a “309” tattoo on Peklak’s hand, police said.
At 6:43 p.m., police allege Carroll, who was not wearing a mask, exited the rear of the Malibu and entered the rear of the Nissan, leaving doors open on both cars.
The victim told police they recognized Carroll as a former North Penn High School football player and as the brother of one of their friends, per the complaint.
Carroll, police allege, asked for the victim’s Cash App account and asked to take the sneakers, then claimed he had issues with the app and said he would complete payment when he returned to the Malibu.
When the victim declined, Carroll allegedly got upset and reached over to grab the sneakers. The victim held tight onto the sneakers, and Carroll allegedly said, “Don’t try anything.” He grabbed the victim’s arm, police said, struggled with the shoes, and punched the victim in the face.
Carroll was unable to take the shoes, police said.
During the struggle, Metzler, , wearing a “Bape” hoodie with a shark design, entered the back of the Nissan and forcefully took a second victim’s purse, police said. He yelled, “Give me your f------ purse, b----,” and he grabbed it from the victim, police said.
Once Metzler entered the Malibu, Peklak backed out of the space, with Carroll still inside the Nissan, police said. Peklak drives 20 feet away, waits 10 seconds, then accelerates toward the front of the Altima, per the affidavit.
Carroll immediately exits the Nissan, runs toward the backseat and enters Peklak’s Malibu, police said. Meanwhile, the victim begins chasing the car, police said.
Peklak, authorities allege, exited the lot between Wawa and Chick-fil-A and turned southbound, as Metzler tossed the purse out the window onto the grass.
A short time later, Carroll realized he left his phone in the victim’s car and the Malibu turns back toward Forty Foot and Welsh roads, police said. At 6:47 p.m., the victim drives out of the lot onto Welsh Road. While at the red light, surveillance allegedly shows Carroll running across Welsh Road toward the victim’s car, grabbing onto it.
Police said the victim threw Carroll’s phone out the window in front of a home near Grist Mill Drive.
At 7:07 pm., Towamencin Police received a call from a resident on the 500 block of Bookbinder Way, reporting a man in a blue hoodie, later identified as Carroll, knocked on his door and asked if he had a son named “Jayce” and that he stole his phone, police said.
At 7:11 p.m., police found a white Malibu on Grist Mill Drive and stopped the car. Police asked Peklak what happened, and he allegedly said he did not know. He said they went to meet someone and “All this s--- happened,” police said. Peklak said there was a fight and he left, police said.
Police allegedly saw a tan BB gun in the backseat of the Malibu under a hoodie, and when Peklak was asked about it, he said, “That’s a BB gun. My fault.”
While speaking with Peklak, Carroll approached an officer, who was standing behind the Malibu, police said. Another officer arrived, and he spoke to Carroll, who told police he dropped his phone in a car and tracked it to the neighborhood, police said.
Police asked Carroll what happened, and he allegedly said he met with someone to buy a pair of sneakers and he believed the seller was intimidated by him. Carroll said he asked to see the shoes, but the seller was “weird.”
“Carroll then said he ‘snatched them away from him and we got into a scuffle,’” police wrote in the complaint.
Police said Carroll claimed to see the tan handgun in the victim’s pocket and he punched the victim and then ripped the gun away from him, dropping it. Carroll told police the BB gun in the backseat was not his, per the affidavit.
Carroll told police he did not call police because he punched the victim, and he got scared, per the complaint.
Metzler remains at Montgomery County jail on $25,077 cash bail, which includes a probation/parole detainer, per court records. A preliminary hearing for Metzler is set for Jan. 15 at 2:30 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine. He is represented by a public defender.
A preliminary hearing for Carroll is set for Jan. 16 at 2:30 p.m. before Levine. He is represented by a public defender.
Peklak is currently moving through the trial process in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court and has a pre-trial conference scheduled for Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. He is represented by private attorney Edward Rideout III of Blue Bell.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
