U. Moreland robber gets 3 decades in prison
- Montgomery County Prosecutor Gwendolyn Kull
NORRISTOWN >> A Philadelphia man will be behind bars for at least three decades for robbing multiple businesses in Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland townships while armed with a box cutter or handgun.
Stephen Thomas Anderer, 35, of the 6900 block of Sylvester Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday to 29½ to 59 years in a state correctional facility on charges of robbery, receiving stolen property and person not to possess a firearm in connection with three incidents that occurred between September and October 2017.
The sentence, which included several consecutive terms sought by prosecutors, was imposed by Judge Wendy G. Rothstein. A jury convicted Anderer of the charges during a trial last November.
“We are glad that he is off the streets and will be off the streets for a long time,” said Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Kull.
Kull and co-prosecutor Scott Frame had sought more time against Anderer, specifically 60 years in mandatory sentences, relying on a so-called “Second Strike” law. Prosecutors pointed out Anderer had a 2004 conviction for robbery in Philadelphia
and they sought a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence for each of the six felony robbery charges of which the jury convicted Anderer.
Prosecutors said seven victims were terrorized during the three robberies.
“The victims will never get the image of this masked assailant out of their heads. They will live with this forever. He completely stole their sense of security,” Kull said. “They want to be able to move on with their lives but they’ll be forever haunted by the horror he inflicted during the robberies.”
One victim told the judge her life changed forever as a result of the robbery and that Anderer stole more than simply money but robbed her of her “peace of mind and shook her faith in humankind.”
Defense lawyer Edward Rideout III sought a sentence of no more than 10 to 20 years in prison for Anderer,
essentially seeking concurrent terms for the crimes. But Rideout said under the “Second Strike” law “the numbers and potential for a long sentence were astronomical.”
“I was looking for more concurrent time. He comes from a good family with support,” Rideout said.
Anderer testified during the trial and denied being involved in the robberies.
With the verdict, jurors determined Anderer placed others in fear of immediate serious bodily injury or bodily injury when he brandished a box cutter or a handgun during the three robberies. The victims testified during the trial.
The incidents were investigated by Upper Moreland Detective Maureen A. Kund and Upper Dublin Detective Michael B. Lebby.
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Anderer, wearing a hooded, silver skull mask, entered the Rite Aid store in the 1200 block of Bethlehem Pike in Upper Dublin about 6 p.m. Sept. 23, 2017, brandished a box cutter and demanded cash and cigarettes from a clerk. Anderer got away with $563 cash and 14 packs of cigarettes valued at $111, authorities alleged. Detectives recovered blue medical gloves and a skull mask discarded near the scene and submitted them to a crime lab for DNA testing, according to court papers.
On Oct. 2, Upper Moreland police responded to a robbery at the Trendz and Frendz clothing store in the 1900 block of County Line Road during which a male, later determined to be Anderer, wore a skull mask and robbed five female victims, including customers in the store, at gunpoint of a total of $620 and then fled in a dark-colored sedan, according to a criminal complaint.
Upper Moreland police responded to another armed robbery on Oct. 15 at a Sunoco Mini Market in the 3200 block of East County Line Road during which Anderer wore a skull mask, gloves and dark clothing and made off with $200, according to court papers. Witnesses observed the robber flee in a Ford Fusion vehicle and provided police with a license plate number. Authorities also recovered a mask and clothing that were discarded by the robber as he fled the area and the items were submitted for forensic analysis.
Anderer was stopped while driving the getaway vehicle on Oct. 17 by police in Bensalem, Bucks County. During a search of the vehicle, detectives recovered multiple pairs of blue and white medical gloves consistent with those worn by the robber during the incidents, prosecutors alleged.
Subsequent DNA tests on the inside portion of the skull mask recovered after the Sunoco robbery determined “the major component of the DNA mixture profile” matched the known DNA profile of Anderer, according to the arrest affidavit.
Authorities alleged DNA tests on the mask and gloves recovered after the Rite Aid robbery in Upper Dublin determined Anderer, who fit the description of the male in all three robberies, “could not be eliminated as a possible investigative lead,” according to the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors alleged analysis of cellphone data determined Anderer was in the vicinity of the Trendz and Frendz store leading up to, during and after that robbery.
During the trial, Rideout attacked the investigation, claiming it was poorly executed and that there was a lack of evidence linking Anderer to the crimes. A defense DNA expert also tried to raise doubt about the results of the prosecution’s forensic testing on the mask and gloves.
“We are glad that he is off the streets and will be off the streets for a long time.”