On May 9th, 2026, at approximately 12:26 in the afternoon, Officers from the Lower Chichester Township Police Department, were dispatched to the Wawa, located at 1439 Market St, in Linwood PA, for the report of a theft.
Officers were advised that a male had stolen cigarettes and while doing so, left his wallet on the counter by the cashier. Within that wallet, Officers located the subject's PA identification, identifying him as Phillip Harris. Harris, who fled in an unidentified vehicle with a piece of yellow paper covering the license plate was reported to have stolen cigarettes from the store.
Officers, working in conjunction with the store manager, were able to review store surveillance footage to determine that at first Harris, paces around the front of the building prior to approaching the cashier counter. When he does finally approach the counter, he is observed setting his wallet down then reaching behind the counter, grabbing a plastic bag that was filled for him to purchase with two cartons of cigarettes. A store employee attempts to stop Harris from taking the bag, however, was unsuccessful when Harris forcefully pulled the bag away. It was at that time; the cartons fell to the ground. Harris is seen gathering the cigarettes and fleeing from the front of the business.
Through the course of the investigation, and utilizing the surveillance footage, license plate readers, as well as other resources, Officers were able to identify the make of the vehicle as an Acura Tsx sedan, as well as a registration plate as it fled the area. A separate incident several hours later in Upper Chichester Township, allowed Officers from both municipalities to work together, in identifying the subject as well as the vehicle used in both incidents. Officers from both Departments were able to complete the paperwork for arrest warrants which would subsequently lead to an arrest the following day. At approximately 10:48am multiple local Municipalities assisted Pennsylvania State Police as they observed Harris' Acura traveling in the area.
On May 10, 2026, Phillip Edward Harris was taken into custody without incident after an extensive pursuit, including multiple jurisdictions as well as Pennsylvania State Police. Bail was set by District Judge G. Coleman in the amount of 10% of $50,000 for the Lower Chichester incident, and 10% of $100,000 for the Upper Chichester incident.
Disclaimer: To the extent that pending criminal matters are discussed, all such charges are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
