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Police responded to a 9-1-1 call in reference to a suspicious person -- later identified as Jahquan Penn -- who tried getting into several cars in the 1900 block of Armstrong Avenue in the Morton section of Ridley around 9:40 p.m. on Jan. 12, Ridley Township police said.
A witness told an officer that they saw a "black male (wearing all dark clothing) trying to open car door handles," and was last seen walking on Armstrong Avenue towards Kedron Avenue, police said.
Police saw Penn pull on the door handle of a Jeep Cherokee in the parking lot of the Knoetgen-Donahue Funeral Home, police said.
Upon speaking with Penn, an officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana, police said.
Penn -- who claimed that he was traveling from Southwest Philadelphia -- told the officer that he was simply following the GPS on his phone to get to a friend's house, police said.
When Penn couldn't provide the address of the friend, officers searched him and took him into custody, police said.
Following the search, police found that Penn had a large amount of cash, a small amount of marijuana, steel brass knuckles, multiple gift cards as well as several other items that were believed to be stolen from cars, police said.
A nearby victim from Amosland Road reported to police that they had surveillance footage of Penn entering a car parked in a local driveway, police said.
Police are encouraging anyone who had items stolen from their car or witnessed suspicious activity, to contact Ridley Township detectives at (610)532-4002.
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