A fourth suspect is behind bars in the monthslong investigation into a broad-daylight robbery at a Lansdowne, Pa. Wawa, and police say a search of his home turned up two handguns, including one reported stolen out of Philadelphia. Harlem Cobb, 19, was taken into custody on July 22 after officers served an outstanding warrant at his residence. Three more suspects connected to the March robbery remain at large.
The arrest made Cobb the fourth person detained in the case, according to the Lansdowne Police Department. The department says the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division and the county's Emergency Response Team assisted local officers in taking Cobb into custody at his home. Police recovered two firearms during that search, one of which had been reported stolen in Philadelphia.
Search of Cobb's Home Turns Up a Stolen Handgun
Possessing a firearm known to be stolen is treated as its own standalone felony under Pennsylvania law, separate from any robbery charge, according to Latta Law. That means Cobb could face gun charges layered on top of whatever role prosecutors allege he played in the robbery itself. Whether prosecutors will pursue the case against all suspects as a coordinated group, or file separate firearm charges tied specifically to Cobb, has not been made public.
The robbery itself unfolded around midday on March 13, when a group of seven suspects allegedly assaulted and robbed a victim inside the store, according to the same police account. The location, formally designated Wawa Store No. 73 in state records, sits along a stretch of North Lansdowne Avenue that has drawn more than one heavy police response this year.
Three Other Suspects Already Behind Bars
Cobb joins three others already jailed in the case: Cristian Ballard, 20; Nathan Rodriguez, 18; and Mahdi Ways, 18, all of whom were previously taken into custody in connection with the robbery, according to WPVI-TV. Following preliminary arraignments, all four suspects were remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Delaware County's sole county jail.
The facility, located on Cheyney Road in Thornton, has a maximum holding capacity of roughly 1,800 inmates, according to WHYY. Delaware County resumed public management of the jail in 2022 after years of contracting its operation out to a private prison company, the station reports.
Strong-arm robbery under Pennsylvania law is generally graded as a second-degree felony when force or the threat of immediate bodily injury is used without a weapon, carrying a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine, according to Goldstein Mehta LLC. The charge can be elevated to a first-degree felony if a deadly weapon is brandished or serious bodily injury results, the firm notes.
Same Wawa Rattled by a Standoff Weeks Earlier
This isn't the first time the Lansdowne Avenue Wawa has drawn a heavy police presence this year. On July 12, a man allegedly threatened patrons inside the store before fleeing to a nearby apartment building, touching off a multi-hour standoff with county tactical officers, according to CBS News. That earlier standoff at the same Wawa ended in an arrest with no reported injuries.
Search Continues for Three Remaining Suspects
Lansdowne police, led by Chief Kenneth C. Rutherford Jr. out of the department's headquarters at 12 E. Baltimore Avenue, say the search for the three remaining suspects is ongoing, according to the Borough of Lansdowne. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact Sgt. Michael Miller at [email protected], police say.
Lansdowne is a 1.2-square-mile borough roughly seven miles west of Center City Philadelphia with a population of about 11,100 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. The Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division, which assisted in Cobb's arrest, became the first district attorney's detective agency in Pennsylvania to receive state law enforcement accreditation in November 2025, per The Spirit News.
