2 women plead guilty in Brookhaven heist

MEDIA COURTHOUSE » Two Wilmington women entered open guilty pleas Tuesday in a foiled robbery of the Brookhaven McDonald’s in January that ended with a crash on I-95.

Sondraya Delaina Mills, 22, of the 100 block of North DuPont Street, and Tanazha Ross, 20, of the 500 block of Union Street, each pled guilty before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge John Capuzzi to conspiracy to robbery, a felony of the first degree. Ross also pled guilty to robbery, a first-degree felony.

The two were among six people believed to have taken part in the Jan. 19 robbery of the restaurant at 4206 Edgmont Ave. A third defendant, Bernard Goodwin, 21, of the 1600 block of West Eighth Street in Wilmington, was sentenced to one to two years in state prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to robbery and conspiracy charges for his role in the heist.

Police received a robbery alarm from the McDonald’s at 7:58 p.m. Dispatchers called the restaurant and were told three armed black males wearing masks had just robbed the store and were last seen fleeing toward Eaton Park in the direction of West Maple Avenue.

The Brookhaven Police Department also had received a call from a borough resident at 7:56 p.m. asking for a police check on a suspicious vehicle that had been parked on West Marple at Mount Vernon Avenue for about an hour. The caller described the vehicle as an older-model white Chevrolet Tahoe and said it appeared to be occupied by two people.

Brookhaven officer Kevin Crouse, who was responding to the suspicious vehicle call with Officer Gregory Martin, put out a description of the Tahoe over the radio after the robbery call came in, stating it could be involved.

Parkside Police Department Officer Steven Jackson soon saw a vehicle matching that description traveling south on Edgmont Avenue. Jackson attempted a stop, but the vehicle sped off. An ensuing chase ended when the vehicle crashed on I-95.

Three unknown men bailed from the Tahoe and were not captured. Mills and Ross were taken into custody at the crash site, and Goodwin was captured near the intersection of 15th and Townsend streets in Chester.

Goodwin told police he was in the McDonald’s just prior to the robbery and that he knew the people he was with had firearms and had parked on a nearby side street in Brookhaven. Mills, who was sitting in the front seat of the Tahoe, also allegedly admitted to knowing the men she was with were armed and planned to commit a robbery, according to the affidavit.

Video surveillance showed the robbers entering the store at about 7:49 p.m. Witnesses described having guns pointed at them and said they were in fear for their lives, according to the affidavit.

One victim said she was singled out by a gunman who said, “She’s acting like she doesn’t know how to open (the safe). Just shoot her,” according to the affidavit.

Mills and Ross remain in custody at the county prison in Concord pending sentencing, set for Nov. 30. Ross, represented by attorney John Flannery, faces a maximum 40 years in prison and Mills, represented by Jay Stillman, faces up to 20 years.

Assistant District Attorney William Judge did not offer a recommended sentence due to the open nature of the pleas.