Shamokin News Item | By Eric Scicchitano
BEAR GAP - A black male feigning car trouble held a weapon to the chest of a 79-year-old Paxinos man Saturday evening, robbing him of his wallet and prescription pills, according to the victim.
Police were looking for two people for questioning in the incident, Robert Forrest Smith and Melanie Guinther, according to emergency communications.
Irving F. Snyder, of Mountain Road, told The News-Item that it took "seconds" for the robber to make off with his possessions.
Inside his wallet, he said, was up to $2,500 in cash. The pills, he said, were painkillers and numbered more than 300.
"They came to the door and they wanted to know if they could use the phone because their car broke down," Snyder said by telephone Saturday night in speaking of the suspect and an alleged accomplice, a white woman.
"I told them to wait and I would get the phone," he said.
Instead, both suspects entered his home shortly before 6:30 p.m.
The male met him face to face and thrust a sharp object into his chest, Snyder said. Snyder wasn't sure if it was a knife or a pen, but said he decided to obey any demands.
"'Don't make no noise or say anything or I'm going to
kill you,' " Snyder said, recalling how the man threatened him. "Naturally, I didn't move."
They were inside his home less than one minute, he said. From there, the duo fled on foot and remained at large as of 10 p.m.
Snyder said he was not injured, but the object left a small mark on his chest.
Ralpho Township police were assisted by officers from at least five area communities and state police in their search for the suspects.
The black male was reportedly wearing a green shirt, camouflage shorts, a cap and beard; the woman, a green blouse.
Officers were on the lookout for a black Ford Escape and a large pickup truck, possibly a blue or black Chevrolet with tinted windows. The occupants of the truck weren't believed to be suspects; rather, that they'd have information.
A traffic stop was initiated on a Ford Escape in Natalie but it was not the suspect vehicle.
Officers from Ralpho Township, Coal Township, Shamokin, Kulpmont, Mount Carmel and Mount Carmel Township, along with state troopers, were positioned at or patrolled various points along Route 61 and 54 in search of the suspects or suspect vehicles. They also patrolled the rural roads between Overlook and Bear Gap, including the areas around Northumberland County Airport and St. Peter's United Church of Christ, Blue Church Road.
According to information broadcast over emergency communications, the incident could be related to a domestic dispute that occurred earlier in the afternoon.
Asked about that incident, Patrolman Matthew Hashuga, Coal Township police, said witnesses claimed a Robert Smith and Barbara Somers were involved in a physical altercation near First and Wood streets.
Both left the scene before police arrived - Smith in a black Ford Escape and Somers, who Hashuga said has outstanding arrest warrants for unrelated matters, in a pickup truck.
Ralpho Township police could not be reached for comment on the incident.
Snyder said this isn't the first time he's been robbed. He estimated up to $9,000 has been stolen from his home over the last year.
"I've been really taken across here in the last year," he said.
The prescriptions were OxyContin, he said - 180 10-milligram pills and 160 15-milligram pills.
He worried about the bank cards and identification that were stolen with his wallet.
Snyder, an Air Force veteran, owned and operated the former Snyder and Sons Small Engine Repair on North Rock Street in Shamokin.
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