One half of a pair of armed robbers who posed as utility workers, burst into a home in Point Breeze and assaulted a woman has been arrested, according to police.
Police say Tillman Byrd was located Wednesday at a home in West Philadelphia's Mill Creek neighborhood after an anonymous tip call investigators received when they released surveillance video identifying him as a suspect in the home invasion.
The violent robbery unfolded the morning of Feb. 14 about 8:30, when police say Byrd and another man knocked on the door of a home on Mole Street near Ellsworth and told two women there they needed to check the pipes. One of the women, a 39-year-old, told the men the pipes were fine, and the pair left -- only to return minutes later, force their way in at gunpoint and demand valuables.
Police said the men beat the 39-year-old woman with a handgun and ransacked her room before fleeing from the house. The woman had to be treated at an area hospital for injuries to her face. A 68-year-old woman who was also home at the time was uninjured, police said.
Police said Byrd and the second robber were captured on surveillance video parking on the women's block. After receiving the tip days after the home invasion, detectives eventually tracked Byrd down at the house on Moss Street.
Byrd faces charges including aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, illegal gun possession, theft, terroristic threats and impersonating a public servant. Court records show he was arraigned on Wednesday and is being held on $600,000 bail.
The second suspect remains at large. Tipsters should call 215-686-3013.
