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Nile Ward, 19, and Jamir Hill, 27, were arrested after a Monday, May 23 raid of Ward's home, which turned up five firearms, stolen clothing from one of the robberies, a black jacket worn by the men in surveillance footage and on social media, crack cocaine, marijuana, and more, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said.
The men were linked to two gunpoint carjackings in Darby Township and Collingdale, as well as two gunpoint robberies in Yeadon and Lower Merion from late February to late March, the DA said.
The first incident happened on Feb. 24, when investigators say the pair carjacked a man at gunpoint and drove off in his 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe. On March 14, the car was stopped by police, and Ward's school ID card was found, along with a Walmart receipt dated the day after the carjacking, they said.
One of the men was captured wearing a distinctive black jacket in surveillance footage from Walmart, and Ward was seen wearing the same jacket in a March 3 Instagram post, according to investigators.
On March 1, the two were accused of robbing a 7-Eleven store at gunpoint, with one of the men wearing the same jacket seen in the Walmart footage. One of the men also had a small tattoo on his left hand.
The pair were seen again on March 8 when they robbed $68,250 worth of high-end clothing from Glausangeles in Bryn Mawr, authorities said. They fled the scene of both robberies in the stolen Hyundai.
On March 18, the men were accused of carjacking an Audi 4 owner at gunpoint at the Collingdale Smoke Shop. One of the men was wearing stolen clothing from Glausangeles, and was described as having the same hand tattoo, authorities said.
The stolen Audi was recovered on March 24 with Ward's name on a prescription and receipt inside the car, police said.
“Recent press coverage has made clear that carjackings have been on the rise. These incidents are both terrifying and potentially deadly. Today we announce the arrest of two bad actors who came from Philadelphia to threaten our Delaware County communities," DA Stollsteimer said.
"I pledge to the residents of Delaware County that we will prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law, and I want the message to be loud and clear to anyone contemplating bringing this lawless action to Delaware County, we will pursue you, and we will prosecute you."
At the time of their arrest, Ward was on electronic home monitoring as a result of gun charges pending in Philadelphia, and Hill was on parole resulting from a gun case in Delaware County.
Both men were remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 3.
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