DNA on hard hat links Philadelphia man to Cheltenham armed robbery

NORRISTOWN — The hard hat he wore and discarded during one of two armed robberies of businesses in Cheltenham Township led to the arrest of a Philadelphia man after his DNA was found on the liner of the protective head gear.

Ryan O. Boothe, 37, of the 2000 block of Spencer Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 6 to 12 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of robbery, person not to possess a firearm and aggravated assault in connection with incidents that occurred between Nov. 23 and Nov. 25, 2021, in Cheltenham.

Judge Thomas P. Rogers, who accepted a plea agreement, also ordered that Boothe undergo a mental health evaluation and comply with all recommendations for treatment. Boothe also faces a $3,243 restitution bill in connection with the case.

Boothe pleaded guilty to the charges several days before his trial was slated to begin.

The investigation began about 1:38 a.m. Nov. 23, 2021, when Cheltenham police responded to a report of a robbery in progress at the 7-Eleven in the 200 block of South Easton Road in the Glenside section of the township. A female clerk reported that a man wearing a white hard hat, dark hooded sweatshirt and black pants brandished a gun, demanded cash and stole cash from a cash register, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators obtained video surveillance camera footage from the store that recorded the robbery, during which the suspect pulled out a black pistol and pointed it at the clerk.

“The suspect leaned across the counter and (the clerk) took money from the register and handed it to the suspect. The suspect then reached over with his right hand and pulled the register drawer out,” police alleged, adding the suspect fled when the clerk pushed a panic button.

The suspect, later identified as Boothe, made off with about $100.

Officers who canvassed the area found a white hard hat discarded along the robber’s escape route in the street on Buckley Road, directly across the street from the 7-Eleven, court papers indicate. That hard hat was later sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Lab for DNA analysis.

“The results of this evaluation show that (Boothe) can be included as a potential contributor to the DNA profile found on the fabric liner on the inside of the white hardhat,” police wrote in the criminal complaint.

Boothe also was linked to a second armed robbery two days later, on Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Day, at the Rite Aid store in the 1400 block of West Cheltenham Avenue at about 6:10 p.m., according to court papers. Police responding to a report of a robbery in progress arrived at the scene and when they looked through a window observed two employees with their hands in the air and the suspect in the store, court papers indicate.

“A male cashier related that the suspect pointed the firearm at his mid-section and that he was in fear for his life,” police wrote in the criminal complaint, adding the cashier complied with Boothe’s demands and gave cash from the register to Boothe. “The suspect demanded and received cigarettes and other tobacco products from store employees.”

Several customers, including a child, also were inside the store at the time of the robbery.

Boothe fled from the store on foot and police pursued him, eventually tackling him to the ground. Boothe struggled with officers during which a black pistol identified as a Sig Sauer 9mm firearm fell from his person to the ground, according to the criminal complaint.

A large amount of tobacco products, candy and cash, items taken during the robbery, were found in Boothe’s possession, police alleged.

One officer sustained an injury to his knee during the struggle, authorities said. Boothe later spit at officers and struggled with them at the police station, court documents indicate.

Investigators also analyzed data from Boothe’s cellphone and determined his cellphone was in the vicinity of the 7-Eleven at the time it was robbed on Nov. 23, according to court documents.

During his arraignment on the charges, Boothe told a judge that he worked in construction. Police said that type of employment “may require the use of a hardhat.”

Other charges of receiving stolen property, theft by unlawful taking, harassment by prisoner and simple assault were dismissed against Boothe as part of the plea agreement.

Assistant District Attorney Scott Frank Frame prosecuted the case. Defense lawyer Rachel Blevins represented Boothe.

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