The Republican Herald | By Frank Andruscavage
A 21-year-old Reading man was jailed Sunday after allegedly threatening two people with a handgun.
Pottsville police said Rasheem Shabazz Allah Smalls, 108 W. Douglass St., was arraigned on charges of robbery, aggravated assault, former convicts not to possess a firearm, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession with intent to deliver cocaine, terroristic threats, simple assault, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of cocaine.
Patrolman Eugene Yourey said the incident began about 5:37 p.m., when officers were called for a robbery in which the assailant, a man with a handgun, had fled into an apartment at 589 Laurel Terrace.
At the scene, Yourey said the victims, a man and woman from Pottsville whose names were being withheld Monday pending further investigation, explained how the robbery unfolded.
The woman told police she was walking in the 300 block of Sanderson Street when Smalls approached her, pointed a gun at her and demanded she hand over her money. Before she could reply, Yourey said Smalls grabbed about $50 from her hand and fled toward Laurel Terrace Apartments.
Yourey said the woman followed Smalls to the apartment building and saw him enter the apartment of Sandra Miller, 589 Laurel Terrace. She then called her fiance and he joined her at the apartment complex.
The woman's fiance told police he called Smalls to the window of the apartment but Smalls pointed a handgun out the window and threatened to shoot him, Yourey said.
Yourey said the couple also called the police. When the officers arrived and entered the apartment, they found Smalls with a loaded 22-caliber handgun and 150 rounds of ammunition.
Officers also found 17 bags of crack cocaine with a street value of $350, a small amount of marijuana and a bottle of prescription medication.
Yourey said Smalls was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier, Orwigsburg, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $100,000 straight cash bail.
Smalls will have to appear for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, police said.
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