Three indicted in Wayne, Drexel Hill Wawa robberies
PHILADELPHIA » Three men have been charged in a federal indictment for a pair of 2019 Wawa store robberies in Delaware County.
Quintel Martins, 27, of Upper Darby, DeAndre Jackson, 23, of Newark, Del., and Christopher Winfield, 22, of Wilmington, Del., are each charged with one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery, and two counts of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, according to charging documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The robberies took place at a Radnor Wawa on June 17, 2019, and a Wawa in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby on Sept. 14, 2019. All three men allegedly participated in both robberies and authorities had posted a reward of $15,000 for information leading to their capture.
Martins and Winfield were arrested in October 2019 and police believed at that time that they were planning to hit a third store in Collingdale, according to Daily Times archives. Martins and Winfield were taken into federal custody in January 2021, while Jackson was arrested Tuesday and is expected to make an initial appearance in federal court this week, according to federal prosecutors.
The first robbery took place about 3 a.m. at the Wawa at 151 Sugartown Road in the Wayne section of Radnor,
when three men wearing masks and brandishing handguns entered the store and locked the doors behind them, according to the indictment.
The robbers then forced the employees at gunpoint into a bathroom and threatened to shoot an employee before stealing $1,818 from a safe and the registers, the indictment says. They also took a donation jar containing an unknown amount of money before fleeing.
The Wawa on the 500 block of Burmont Road was the site of the second robbery,
which was conducted in a similar manner. Two men entered with masks and handguns in the early-morning hours, forcing employees into
a back room while the third followed behind with a bag.
Again the robbers forced employees into a back room
and stole cash from the store’s safe and cash registers totaling approximately $6,000, along with Pennsylvania lottery tickets, according to the indictment.
A newspaper delivery driver saw a man behind the register wearing a mask and called police, but they had already been notified through a silent security alarm. The robbers fled out a side door
as the driver approached the front door.
All told, the trio took $7,819 and scratch-off tickets that were later redeemed for another $1,468, the indictment says.
Collingdale Police Officer Thayer McCauley was on patrol at a Wawa in the area of MacDade and Clifton Avenue on Oct. 2, 2019, when he spotted a car with a damaged registration tag and began to follow, according to prior reporting.
The car sped off, but was located a short time later
and stopped. Police found items similar to ones used in the prior robberies, including two handguns, gloves and ski-masks. Martins and Winfield were taken into custody at that time.
Police previously reported that Martins had worked at the Wayne Wawa and was identified as the person that cashed in some of the stolen lottery tickets.
“The conduct alleged in the indictment displays an appalling disregard for the safety of others,” said Acting
U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams in a release. “The employees of these stores were just going about their daily business when they were allegedly terrorized at gunpoint. No one should have to go through that. This indictment is an example of how our office is working to keep Philadelphia and its neighboring communities safe.”
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.