CHERRY HILL — Police chased a pickup truck from the Cherry Hill Mall to a dead-end street yesterday afternoon following an armed robbery and apprehended two men - one of whom told investigators that he was not a getaway driver but a carjacking victim.
Both men were taken into custody after a gunman robbed a shopper inside a mall men's room, then led police on a short pursuit to a nearby neighborhood, said Sgt. Edward Carney of the Cherry Hill police.
Police identified the man suspected of being the gunman as Todd B. Steiger, 33, of Philadelphia. He was arrested after he fled into a wooded area in the Colwick development, near the Maple Shade and Pennsauken borders, Carney said.
Steiger was charged with armed robbery and five counts of aggravated assault. No shots were fired at any point during the 15-minute incident.
The driver of the pickup, identified as Darnell E. Williams, 38, also of Philadelphia, told police Steiger had carjacked him in the mall parking lot. However, Carney said investigators determined that Williams was an accomplice and charged him with conspiracy to commit robbery and eluding police.
The 5:25 p.m. robbery occurred during a slow period at the mall, inside a men's washroom in a long, narrow entrance corridor where mall management and security have offices. No stores are in the corridor, which is about halfway between Macy's and Strawbridge's.
A man with a gun robbed a man of his wallet inside a men's room stall, Carney said. As the robber exited, he brandished a gun at two other men who entered.
Mall security, whose office is about 50 feet from the washroom, was alerted ``within seconds,'' said David Altman, vice president and general manager for the mall. Three security guards approached the robber, but he held them at bay with his gun as he fled through double doors not far from the washroom.
The security guards, who were unarmed, notified Cherry Hill police, Altman said.
A blue Nissan pickup with Williams in the driver's seat was waiting outside the entrance, Carney said. Steiger hopped into the truck bed, and the vehicle took off, said Carney. At some point, Steiger got into the cab, Carney said.
A pursuit by two police cruisers began at the intersection of Haddonfield and Church Roads, a corner of the mall property. Police followed the truck a short distance to Colwick and Devon Roads, where a dead-end forced the vehicle to stop. One of the cruisers rammed the back of the pickup truck, but no one was injured.
