Claw hammer robber jailed for Wawa theft

NORRISTOWN » A man who used a claw hammer to threaten a clerk while he robbed a Lower Merion Wawa store is headed to state prison.

Michael Luciann Sanchez, 44, of the 1100 block of Anchor Street, Philadelphia, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to three to six years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of robbery in connection with the 4 a.m. Dec. 30, 2016, incident at the Wawa store at 189 Belmont Avenue in the Bala Cynwyd section of the township.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Joseph P. Walsh as part of a plea agreement. Walsh also ordered Sanchez, also known as Michael Davalos, to pay $977 in restitution to the Wawa store.

Lower Merion detectives said the investigation determined that Sanchez, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, jeans and a black knit cap, entered the store about 3:45 a.m., initially appearing to get some coffee. However, when a cashier went to another

area of the store, Sanchez went behind a counter and started placing cartons of cigarettes into a shopping tote, according to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Detective David Herbst.

A female store manager observed Sanchez’s activity and walked to the register area. Sanchez “produced a claw hammer” and told the manager to “step back and I’ll be on my way,” according to the arrest affidavit.

“(The manager) believing that she may be struck by the hammer and suffer serious bodily injury if she did not comply, backed away from the register area. The male then left the register area and exited the store on foot eastbound on Belmont Avenue,” Herbst alleged in the arrest affidavit.

Twelve cartons of cigarettes were taken during the robbery for a total value of $977, detectives said.

Court documents indicate Sanchez was developed as a suspect in the Lower Merion robbery after he was taken into custody by Philadelphia police on Jan. 4 when he allegedly attempted to steal cigarettes from a Wawa on Castor Avenue.