Police arrest Philadelphia man who police say went on two-day, intercounty crime rampage

Philadelphia police have arrested a man they say had been on the run after a violent, two-day crime rampage that spanned three counties and left two people shot.

Zahkee Austin, 22, was taken into custody in South Philadelphia on Tuesday morning, police said.

Investigators pieced together a trail that led them to Austin after they say he went on a crime spree that started late Sunday and continued into early Monday and included holding up a driver at gunpoint in the city, shooting an elderly couple in Delaware County, and holding a clerk at gunpoint in Chester County.

Austin was being held in Chester County prison on $1 million bail, according to court records. He was charged with crimes including robbery, terroristic threats, firearms charges, and simple assault.

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At 8 p.m. Sunday, police say, Austin held up a 41-year-old driver at gunpoint on Germantown Avenue, near Hunting Park Avenue, in Nicetown, and stole the driver’s silver Chevrolet Malibu. Austin then used the car to speed away from the scene, they said.

About 30 miles away, at around 12:30 a.m. Monday, Pennsylvania State Police troopers responded to a report of a home invasion and armed robbery in the Franklin Station subdivision in Middletown Township, Delaware County, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Austin’s arrest. When troopers went inside the house, they found a couple suffering from gunshot wounds, the affidavit said.

During the robbery, Austin shot the victims, ages 62 and 72, one in the leg and the other in the face, then left with a black velvet box of jewelry, investigators said. The victims were taken to Riddle Hospital and are expected to survive.

Authorities said the motive for the crime was unclear, but it appeared Austin knew the victims.

While investigating the robbery, investigators said, they found a Ring camera video that showed a silver Chevrolet Malibu fleeing the scene.

Shortly after the home-invasion robbery, Austin drove the Malibu to an Exxon station on South Walnut Street in West Goshen Township, Chester County, where authorities said he once again brandished his gun to steal from another victim.

At 2:17 a.m. Monday, West Goshen Township police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the gas station. The night-shift employee told officers that around 1:30 a.m., a silver Chevrolet Malibu pulled into the gas station and a man wearing a black mask, green Northface jacket, and black pants got out of the car, authorities said.

Austin brandished a gun, forced the attendant to empty the cash register, and left with $3,000 in cash, they said.

Around 3:51 a.m., back in Philadelphia, police responded to an armed robbery at a mini market on Ogontz Avenue. They said the victim told them a man in a black mask, green Northface jacket, and black pants came into the store and demanded money from the cash register at gunpoint.

A store employee who saw the robbery shot at Austin, police said, and Austin fled, leaving behind the stolen Malibu.

Investigators found the stolen jewelry box inside the car, along with a receipt that belonged to the victim, authorities said.

After talking with Austin’s mother, investigators were able to identify him as the person in surveillance footage, and his mother told police that Austin had admitted that a gun she found in her home was his.