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The South Lebanon Township police officer who shot Cesar Wilkins Romero-Colon, 32 of the 300 block of North Twelve Street of Lebanon was not named, but the two shots he fired at Romero-Colon are considered a justifiable "use of deadly force," the DA Hess Graf said. Neither shot hit Romero-Colon and the shots successfully prompted him to drop his loaded gun and surrender.
Romero-Colon 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 Romero-Colon fired one gunshot in his direction, according to the DA's release.
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 at a high rate of speed, going the wrong way down Route 422, crashing 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 unlawful 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.
He is being held on $1,000,000 in bail and his preliminary hearing for 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 attacked our community, its citizens, and our police. COLON exhibited reckless and selfish behavior at every avenue – from the decision to illegally procure a weapon, to the multiple armed robberies, the vehicle crash, and the efforts to carjack a uniformed police officer at gunpoint. Being a police officer in today’s world is more dangerous today than ever before. We commend the efforts of each officer involved that day and thank the South Lebanon Police Officer for ensuring the crime spree ended without a loss of life. The true message to criminals in our County, to those thinking about bringing their lawlessness to Lebanon County, is simple – ‘don’t.’ We will pursue you, we will take the necessary actions to stop you, we will arrest you, and we will get justice before a jury. Other areas of the Country may fool themselves into the belief that criminals aren’t dangerous. Men like Cesar COLON are the epitome of why our brave police serve and protect us daily. As your District Attorney I promise our Office will take every effort possible under the law to stop them."
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