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Cesar Wilkins Romero-Colon, 32 of the 300 block of North Twelve Street, Lebanon, fled following an armed mugging in the 1100 block of Brandywine Street at 2:24 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, City police detailed in a release on Nov. 9.
The victim told the police that the man, later identified as Romero-Colon, had a black handgun pointed at him and was told to empty his pockets; afterward, the victim ran and heard gunshots behind him, the police explained.
Romero-Colon fled on a bicycle through the city, stopping to steal a 2005 Dodge Caravan at gunpoint in the area of 511 North Second Street at 2:59 p.m., according to the police release and further detailed in a release by county district attorney Pier Hess Graf.
The owner of the Caravan later told the police that he left his vehicle unattended and when he returned Romero-Colon was in the driver's seat. When the owner approached him he allegedly said "Don't get too close or I will shoot you" and pointed a handgun at the victim, the police said.
Soon the police were on his tail and attempting to arrest Romero-Colon, and the South Lebanon Township police had joined the chase after spotting the Dodge Caravan.
Romero-Colon drove the wrong way down Route 422 and crashed the Caravan into another vehicle at the intersection with Narrows Drive in South Lebanon Township.
The driver of the car he crashed into "sustained serious injury," Graf said. The driver had to be "extracted" by medical personnel and taken to an area hospital by ambulance. The driver is expected to survive, according to Graf.
That's when Romero-Colon took off on foot, authorities explained. But he was soon spotted by Lebanon City Police as "they observed (him) attempting to carjack an additional vehicle," as stated in the police release.
When an officer interceded, stopped the carjacking, and gave commands for him to "give up and surrender," according to the DA.
Instead, he immediately moved toward the officer's vehicle while continuing to display a handgun. "He approached the Officer's open, driver's side door," but he struggled with the officer and was unable to enter the police vehicle, the DA explained.
"During the assault on the Lebanon City Police officer and the attempted carjacking of the police cruiser a South Lebanon Township Police Officer fired two gunshots at the suspect," the police said. But, "Neither shot struck or injured [him]," DA Graf said.
When the police cruiser pulled away to safety, Romero-Colon rolled into the roadway, sat up, saw numerous police vehicles arriving, dropped his gun, and surrendered, Lebanon City police explained. Two Lebanon City Police officers took him into custody without further incident.
A stolen 9mm black handgun was found on Romero-Colon. It was loaded with a round in the chamber, ready to fire, according to Graf.
He was charged with the following felonies according to his latest court docket:
- Robbery - threat of immediate serious injury (three counts).
- Receiving stolen property.
- Possession of a firearm is prohibited.
- Theft by unlaw taking - movable property.
- Fleeing or attempting to elude an officer.
- Aggravated assault by vehicle.
- Aggravated assault - attempts to cause or causes serious bodily injury to designated individuals.
His preliminary hearing in this case is set before Magisterial District Judge Maria M. Dissinger at 8 a.m. on Nov. 16.
He also has a pending theft case and drug case, both from October of this year, court records show. The drug case, which allegedly involved disorderly conduct towards a police officer, has a preliminary hearing set before Judge Dissinger at 8 a.m. on Nov. 30. The theft case will have a preliminary hearing before Judge Aurelis Figueroa at 8 a.m. on Dec. 21, according to his other active court dockets. He has no previous criminal record in the state.
The DA concluded her release as follows:
"Cesar Colon risked the lives of multiple people within Lebanon County. He committed crime after crime with a stolen handgun; he valued no life besides his own. We remain thankful today that every officer involved survived this incident and we continue to pray for the recovery of the victim injured during Colon's car crash. This spree of violent and senseless behavior shows lessons to us all: our police must remain vigilant of the grave risks their job poses every day and with every incident; our citizens can rest assured their officers and their District Attorney takes crimes committed with guns and criminal activity seriously; and our criminals have a direct example of the dire consequences they face when brought to justice in Lebanon County. We are not Philadelphia or Chicago — if you attack our residents, if you attack our police, we will prevail. I intend to handle Colon's charges and trial personally."
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