NORRISTOWN – A Philadelphia man who was arrested in the robbery of an AT&T store in Collegeville after police located him using GPS tracking information from the Apple iPhones he stole has pleaded guilty and is awaiting a judge’s decision on his fate.
Terrell S. Allen, 39, of 6200 North Woodstock Street, pleaded guilty in Montgomery District Court to felony assault in connection with the November 28, 2022, incident at the AT&T store on Second Avenue in Collegeville.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman postponed sentencing so court officials can complete a background investigation report on Allen, who must undergo a drug and alcohol abuse and mental health evaluation.
The open guilty plea means that Allen has no agreements with prosecutors regarding his potential sentence. Ferman will be the sole judge in determining Allen’s sentence.
All face a maximum sentence of 3.5 to 7 years in prison, although state sentencing guidelines may allow for a lesser sentence.
Allen was remanded to the county jail without bail to await sentencing.
The investigation began at approximately 10:15 a.m. on Nov. 28, when Collegeville police were called to an AT&T store in the 300 block of Second Avenue for a report of a robbery in progress, according to a criminal complaint filed by Collegeville police Officer Andrew L. Sohl.
“The alarm company confirmed the robbery and the suspect fled the store. The alarm company provided current location information of the stolen cell phones,” Sohl claimed.
Arriving officers spoke with a store employee who reported a man wearing a black mask and a hat with a Batman logo entering the store and stealing cell phones. The suspect, later determined to be Allen, demanded a prepaid phone located in a store safe, followed the employee to the safe and forced him to the ground, court documents state.
“He implied he had a gun and threatened to kill him,” Sohl claimed, adding that Allen forced the employee to fill a bag with about three dozen iPhones valued at nearly $34,000.
According to the arrest affidavit, police obtained GPS tracking data on the stolen iPhones and were able to trace the stolen items to a residence in the 300 block of Hilltop Drive in Upper Merion.
Allen was found hiding in the basement of an apartment at that location and arrested without incident. When police searched a vehicle driven by Allen, they found 37 iPhones, a baseball cap with a Batman logo, as well as a black mask and puffer coat that matched the clothing worn in the AT&T store robbery, the criminal complaint states.
Forensic testing confirmed that Allen’s DNA was found on the black mask used during the store robbery.
Additional charges against Allen for theft by unauthorized taking, simple assault, receiving stolen goods and shoplifting are expected to be dropped at the time of sentencing.
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