Bank robber shot by official headed to prison

NORRISTOWN >> The man who robbed a TD Bank in Hatboro and was later chased down and shot by a borough councilman nearly two years ago is headed to prison after pleading guilty, a court ruled Tuesday.

Montgomery County Court Judge William R. Carpenter sentenced Kevin Philip-John Way, 30, of the 300 block of South Warminster Road in Hatboro, to 4 ½ to 15 years in the Graterford State Correctional Institution for three felony robbery charges. As part of his sentence, Way will also be forced to pay back the $468 he stole from the bank.

Police received a call at 10:18 a.m. July 8, 2015 of a holdup alarm activation at the bank at 256 S. York Road, Hatboro police Chief Jim Gardner said previously.

“We received information from a witness within the bank that it was a robbery and we secured that scene,” he said. “A chase involving the suspect culminated here,” Gardner said, around 12:30 p.m., as police were leaving the rear lot of the Station Park office complex on Warminster Road, where the suspect was shot near the railroad tracks.

Way was arrested after he was shot by Hatboro Councilman George Forgeng in the 300 block of Warminster Road, according to the criminal complaint.

Way was wearing black pants and shirt and a black “Cleveland Cavaliers” baseball-style hat, and was carrying a black backpack. He indicated he was armed, presented a note to a teller stating, “Give me $2,500 or I’ll start shooting — don’t make a sound and don’t move,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.

After obtaining $486 in cash, Way fled the bank on foot. But when a dye pack exploded near him on East Lehman Avenue, Forgeng, 60, saw it, followed Way to Lehman and Park avenues, exited his vehicle and chased him on foot about a quarter-mile to the rear lot behind the office complex at 330 S. Warminster Road, authorities said.

“Forgeng was outside the bank and saw the dye pack explode and knew the bank had been robbed in the past … and chased [the suspect] down,” then Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele said at the time.

During the chase, which led the two to cross the SEPTA Warminster line train tracks, Forgeng asked bystanders along the way to call 911, the complaint says. Forgeng said he told Way he had a gun and didn’t want to shoot him, but Way replied, “Go ahead and shoot me,” and started walking toward him, at which point he fired two shots, striking Way in the hand and arm, the complaint says.

Way was transported to Abington Memorial Hospital where he was interviewed by Montgomery County detectives.

Way said in a written statement he was in the TD Bank because he was desperate and needed money, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

“Give me $2,500 or I’ll start shooting — don’t make a sound and don’t move” — bank robber Kevin Philip-John Way