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Mark Simpkins Jr., of Norristown, had been wanted on an arrest warrant since Oct. 4, 2021, when patrol officers spotted him heading into the A-Plus store on Main Street around 6 a.m. Saturday, May 21, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R.Steele said in a joint release.
Officers tried to stop him, but he fled on foot down West Lafayette Street, leading police on a chase, they said. Simpkins then shot at the officers, who returned fire, Steele said alongside Norristown Police Chief Derrick Wood.
He was arrested in the backyard of a nearby home and treated before being taken to Paoli Hospital with a bullet wound to his leg, investigators said. He is expected to survive.
At the scene, officers recovered a black pistol magazine and a cellphone on the ground, as well as multiple baggies of cocaine in Simpkins' sweatpants pocket, authorities said. Police say they also found a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun in a nearby backyard.
One round had been fired from the 9mm handgun, which had also been reported stolen during a burglary on April 26, 2021, in Philadelphia, DA Steele and Chief Wood said.
Simpkins was charged with aggravated assault on police officers, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, person not to possess a firearm, possession with intent to deliver, and related offenses.
He was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $500,000 bail, records show. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday, June 2.
As is protocol, the Montgomery County Detective Bureau will investigate the officer-involved shooting.
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