Pennsylvania

No Prison Time for Girlfriend of Suspect Injured in Botched Pizza Shop Robbery

A suburban Philadelphia woman has been spared prison time following a plea in a botched pizza shop robbery last fall that left her boyfriend in a wheelchair and his brother dead.

A suburban Philadelphia woman has been spared prison time following a plea in a botched pizza shop robbery last fall that left her boyfriend in a wheelchair and his brother dead.

Chasidy Ramos, 26, pleaded guilty Friday in Bucks County to conspiracy and robbery, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

Ramos is accused of going with her boyfriend's mother to scope out Porfirio's Pizza and Pasta restaurant in a shopping center on the 900 block of Veteran Highway in Levittown back on November 15. She apologized in court saying, "There's a lot of mistakes that I've done.... "I want to do better."

Robin Soto, 52, is expected in court Thursday.

Police say Ramos and Soto entered the pizzeria shortly before 10 p.m. that night to determine how many workers and customers were inside. Soto also allegedly asked the co-owner of the restaurant what time his business closed before stepping outside with Ramos.

Police say Soto then told her sons Justin Rose, 22, who is also Ramos' boyfriend, and Shawn Rose, 24, the number of people inside. The brothers then entered the shop minutes later while carrying realistic-looking airsoft guns, according to Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub.

"They had the security feature, that orange tip, removed so that they looked and felt like real guns," said Weintraub.

Robin-Soto-Chasidy-Ramos
Bucks County District Attorney's Office
(L to R), Robin Soto, Chasidy Ramos

Three people, including the owner and a customer who had stopped in to pick up some food on his way home, were inside the restaurant at the time, said police.

The two brothers, who were wearing dark clothing, gloves and bandannas over their faces, pointed their fake weapons at the customer as well as the shop owner, officials said. They then ordered the customer and owner to, "give us all your s***," according to investigators. During the robbery, Justin Rose remained on the phone with Soto and Ramos, officials said.

Shawn Rose allegedly pistol-whipped the customer in the forehead causing him to drop down to one knee. As Shawn Rose looked away for a moment, the customer pulled out his own .45 caliber handgun from his jacket and fired one shot, striking him in the torso, officials said.

Before Dan Patrick and Liam McHugh left Rio, McHugh decided he would give DP a gift that he wouldn’t forget.

Officials said the customer then fired two shots at Justin Rose, striking him in the throat and shoulder area. Justin Rose fell through the door of the store. The customer then aimed his weapon at the two brothers until police arrived.

Shawn Rose died from his injuries. Justin Rose was taken to St. Mary Medical Center and was then airlifted to Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. He is currently in a wheelchair due to the injuries he sustained, officials said. He is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, simple assault by physical menace and recklessly endangering another person.

Police say Soto and Ramos went to the Middletown Township Police Department several hours after the robbery and asked about the conditions of the two suspects. The co-owner of Porfirio's then identified them as the women who had entered his business minutes before the robbery.

Investigators obtained surveillance video, which they said shows both the pistol-whipping and the shooting. The armed customer was not charged.

"The shooting was a justifiable homicide," Weintraub said. "The shooter is not being charged in this incident."

A Bucks County pizza shop customer opened fire on two people after being pistol-whipped during a robbery. Police said the customer appeared justified in opening fire inside Porfirio’s Pizza in Levittown.

Weintraub said the customer could have been charged however because he had an expired permit to carry a concealed weapon. They decided not to charge him "based on the totality of the circumstances."

"It was only months after his grace period for the renewal of that permit that ended," Weintraub said. "He legally could have renewed his permit at any time and I want to emphasize that he should have renewed his permit to carry that concealed weapon. He was the victim of a robbery however and a pistol-whipping and that factored heavily into our decision."

Weintraub did not identify the shooter but described him as a "lifelong, law-abiding citizen and a business owner who had the gun for his own protection."

"If he had possessed the gun out in the open he wouldn't have even needed a permit to carry at all," Weintraub said. "Most importantly he used that gun to save his own life and the life of the intended victim, the pizza shop owner."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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