Crime & Safety
Man Wields Toy Gun In 7-Eleven Robbery Attempt: Cops
Police were able to identify the suspect after they used DNA found on the shirt he wore, which the clerk pulled off of him in the struggle.
BENSALEM, PA — Bensalem Police, with the assistance of the Philadelphia Police Department, arrested the suspect in a 2020 attempted theft of a local 711 store on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
The suspect, John Grubbs II, entered the Valley 711 on Oct. 7, 2020, wielding a toy gun and threatening to rob the store. When the clerk realized it was a toy, he began to struggle with the suspect, pulling Grubb's shirt off in the process. Grubbs then fled the scene.
Police were able to identify him based off of DNA they found on the shirt, which was left at the scene. Grubb's DNA was already in the FBI Combined DNA Index System(CODIS) based off of other crimes he had committed, including 12 other robberies of a similar nature. This made it easy for investigators to identify him.
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Grubbs was originally arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department and then handed over to the Bensalem Police Department. He was arrested on two counts of robbery, theft by unlawful taking, possession of instruments of crime, and simple assault.
District Justice Joseph P. Falcone arraigned Grubbs and his bail was set at $5 million.
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