Pennridge Regional Police say Israel Omar Zelaya, 20, left, and Nadir Tarise Tidwell, 19, right, both of Allentown, robbed an individual of $4,700 at an East Rockhill Township, Bucks County, bank Tuesday before fleeing north, where they were apprehended a short time later at a shopping plaza on Rt. 309 in Quakertown.
Two Allentown men are facing felony charges after police in Upper Bucks County say they robbed a person at a Wells Fargo bank in East Rockhill Township Tuesday before fleeing to Quakertown, where they were captured a short time later.
According to Pennridge Regional Police and court records, Israel Omar Zelaya, 20, and Nadir Tarise Tidwell, 19, allegedly robbed the individual of $4,700 at the bank at 1131 N. Fifth St., Perkasie, at approximately 10 a.m.
Police say Israel Omar Zelaya, 20, and Nadir Tarise Tidwell, 19, both of Allentown, robbed a person at this bank in East Rockill Township, Bucks County, on the morning of June 26.
Police say they then fled north in a vehicle that was later spotted pulling into a parking lot at the Quakertown Center on Rt. 309, where they left the car and fled on foot, according to a story published by Channel 69 News.
At that point one of the men was apprehended, but the other ran into the Grand View Health Center inside the shopping plaza, around which police from Quakertown borough, Richland Township, Springfield Township and Pennridge established a perimeter, the TV news station reported.
Although the health center was placed on lockdown, the people in it at the time were safely evacuated and the suspect who ran inside was later found hiding in a bathroom, according to multiple published media reports.
Eyewitnesses at the scene reported experiencing moments of apprehension as a heavy police presence and officers with guns drawn were visible along the busy shopping corridor.
It remains unclear which man was apprehended outside the building and which man was taken into custody inside the health center.
Both men are charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and conspiracy-receiving stolen property, all of which are third-degree felony charges, according to court records.
Following an arraignment Tuesday before District Judge Lisa Gaier, Zelaya was committed to the Bucks County Correctional Center in Doylestown in lieu of 10 percent of $500,000 bail, the records state.
Tidwell was denied bail because he has a criminal history and “no good address,” according to court records.
A preliminary hearing before Gaier for both men is scheduled for Thursday, July 5 at 2:15 p.m.
