Theft Suspects Apprehended By New Montco Police Department Officer

LOWER MORELAND, PA — The local police department is praising the actions of an officer who joined the force just over a year ago, saying the man's actions helped to get would-be thieves off the street in this eastern Montgomery County community.

Lower Moreland Police Officer Anthony Peronace, who joined the force in August 2021, was named 'Officer of the Month' in Lower Moreland for September due to his arrest of two suspects this July who were wanted in connection with a series of thefts from motor vehicles in the community.

While patrolling the 3900 block of Shelley Drive in the township back in early July, he saw two men with flashlights outside of a home at around 4 in the morning.

Peronoce began to check vehicles on the block since the department had been made aware of recent thefts from vehicles in the area.

Peronace watched as the two men walked from a driveway to a nearby vehicle, after which he conducted a traffic stop that ultimately led to the arrest of the two men on attempted theft charges, drug charges and other counts, police said.

Peronace subsequently discovered the driver, identified as Jaliel Ali Johnson, 24, of Philadelphia, had an active arrest warrant out of the City of Philadelphia.

The passenger, identified as Haronn Washington, 19, of Philadelphia, was also taken into custody and charged with various misdemeanors.

Court records from Montgomery County Common Pleas Court show that both men have since been held for trial on various theft-related criminal counts as well as other misdemeanors.

The Lower Moreland Police Department hailed Peronace's actions relating to the summer arrests.

Peronace was hired by Lower Moreland last summer after having worked as a police officer for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, where he was stationed in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.

At Lower Moreland, Peronace works as a patrolman who is also a control tactics instructor where he teaches the Brazilian style of jiu-jitsu made famous by the Gracie family.

In an interview with the department after his 'Officer of the Month' recognition, Peronace said that his favorite thing about Lower Moreland is the community's support of their local police agency.

"I also love how the department feels like a family away from home," Peronace, who came from a familial line of Philadelphia police officers, said in his department interview, which was posted online. "Working here feels like I'm spending time with my family."

Even though he worked for a time as a SEPTA police officer in the city, Peronace said he was happy to be back working in the suburbs since he grew up in Montgomery County and he sees his hiring at Lower Moreland as his "opportunity to give back to a place I call home."