Law enforcement officials have identified a suspect linked to a series of brazen citywide robberies, two of which involved assault rifles.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for 32-year-old Shakur Nichols in relation to an incident that occurred just after 2:15 a.m. Aug. 28 on the 1200 block of Sansom Street in Center City, Police Captain Jason Smith, of the Central Detective Division, told reporters Monday.
Surveillance footage, also released by police Monday, shows two gunmen running up on a 23-year-old man who was part of a group strolling along the sidewalk. One of the suspects holds the rifle in one hand while using his other hand to rip off the victim’s wristwatch.
Smith said the offenders stole a diamond-encrusted timepiece and two gold chains, valued at a total of $16,500.
A witness wrote down the license plate number of the suspects’ Nissan Altima, according to law enforcement officials. Investigators believe the vehicle was stolen Aug. 20 in Southwest Philadelphia.
Detectives were able to track the vehicle leaving and returning to Nichols’ home, in the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Wilson Park development in South Philadelphia, Smith said.
He said police searched his home and brought him in for questioning; however, he was later released pending further investigation, Smith added. Nichols is now considered a fugitive.
Smith indicated that authorities do not have enough evidence to charge Nichols with additional crimes, but they believe he is part of a group responsible for three other similar robberies.
Three armed men, one of whom was carrying a rifle, held up three other men at around 3 a.m. Aug. 23 on the 1500 block of Locust Street in Center City, police said. Clips of the robbery went viral on social media.
Forty minutes after that incident, the suspects followed a woman from Southwest Philadelphia to Wissinoming, Smith said. There, two men equipped with handguns robbed her, according to the PPD.
On Sept. 1, just before 2 a.m., gunmen took an expensive bag and jewelry from a man on the 5700 block of Haddington Lane in Overbrook, investigators said.
“It appears that most of the individuals were being targeted for high-end, expensive jewelry,” Smith said.
Anyone with information about Nichols’ whereabouts or the robberies is asked to contact the Central Detective Division at 215-686-3093/3094 or call or text the police tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
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