2 jailed for role in Hatfield robbery
NORRISTOWN >> Two men are in jail after they admitted to their roles in the robbery of a Hatfield Township resident, a crime that netted the men a snake, a gun and electron- ics.
John August Comer, 28, of the 100 block of Gay Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County
Court to 11½-to23-months in the county jail, to be followed by two years’ probation, after he pleaded
guilty to felony charges of robbery and conspiracy to engage in criminal trespass in connection with the Jan. 26, 2019, incident at a Lenhart Road residence in Hatfield.
Xavier Cintron, 26, of the 700 block of Bethlehem Pike, Ambler, was sentenced to 8-to-23-months in jail, to be followed by three years’ probation, after he pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and conspiracy to possess heroin with intent to deliver in connection with the incident.
The sentences were imposed by Judge Risa Vetri Ferman as part of plea agreements.
Cintron’s brother, Alberto Cintron Jr., 30, of the 3100 block of North Franklin Street, Philadelphia, the third man charged in connection with the incident, is still awaiting court action on robbery, burglary, and drug-related charges, according to court records.
An investigation began about 7:42 p.m. Jan. 26 when Hatfield Township officers responded to a residence in the 2000 block of Lenhart Road for a report of a burglary in progress. The victim reported that three men entered his residence and stole numerous items belonging to the victim’s roommate, including a pet snake, a 50-inch television, an X-Box One game console, a .22-caliber revolver, a pellet gun and a sound bar, according to the criminal complaint.
Alberto Cintron allegedly was armed with a metal pipe resembling an expandable police baton, and he ordered the victim to remain in the kitchen of the residence while the other two suspects searched the residence and stole the items, according to police. All three men then fled from the residence, according to the criminal complaint.
As they fled, Alberto Cintron allegedly stated to the victim that he should “shoot their dog” as he made a handgun gesture with his fingers and pointed at the dog, according to the arrest affidavit.
About two hours later, according to court documents, officers were called back to the same address after a report that the robbery suspects had returned. Arriving officers found Comer and the Cintron brothers at the residence, and all three were identified by the victim as the suspects who had committed the earlier robbery, according to court papers.
Some of the stolen property was recovered at the scene, according to police, and Alberto Cintron’s vehicle was impounded to await a search warrant. During that search, police found the stolen revolver, as well as 138 stamped packets of heroin, in the trunk of Alberto Cintron’s Acura vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
“The amount of stamped heroin baggies found in Alberto Cintron’s Acura TL automobile is consistent with the delivery or possession with intent to deliver heroin,” Hatfield Police Officer Keith Blank and Hatfield Detective Daniel J. Tinneny alleged in the arrest affidavit.