Drexel - 'One-man crime army' spills the beans to cops

Michael Gomez went by plenty of different names on the street.

But when investigators are done tracking down all of his alleged victims and adding up all of the charges, he might simply be known as one of the city's most prolific modern criminals.

Gomez was arrested Wednesday and charged with robbing and assaulting a Drexel University professor inside a school building on May 29, police said.

Once in custody, the 45-year-old career criminal opened the floodgates.

Police sources said Gomez gave a 41-page statement to detectives, confessing not only to robbing the professor but also to committing numerous violent crimes and car thefts across the city.

Investigators soon linked him to 14 robberies in the Center City area alone, and then learned that Gomez was wanted on a theft warrant in Abington Township, Montgomery County.

Police from Cherry Hill are looking into the possibility that he was involved in car-dealership thefts there, the police sources said.

The FBI also is expected to file charges against Gomez for robbing commercial establishments, sources said.

Gomez - who also went by the aliases Marvin Sutter and Tyrone Gome - has already had plenty of brushes with the law.

"He has 33 prior arrests," said police Chief Inspector William Colarulo. "In addition to the brazenness of the acts he was involved in, what's shocking is that he was still walking the streets."

When Gomez snuck into Drexel's Stratton Hall at 32nd and Chestnut streets last week, he brandished a black gun and told the female professor to "shut up" when she screamed, police said.

Although he did struggle with the professor as he robbed her, Gomez did not injure his victim.

He was not as restrained when cops finally tracked him down earlier this week, Colarulo said.

A tipster informed detectives on Wednesday that Gomez stole a Dodge Nitro from a car dealership in Northeast Philadelphia.

Two Highway Patrol officers caught up with Gomez near Broad Street and Indiana Avenue in North Philadelphia shortly after 4 p.m., Colarulo said.

The cops stopped their vehicle in front the stolen Dodge, at which point Gomez jumped out and aimed a handgun at the officers, Colarulo said.

He sped off without firing and was soon captured on Allegheny Avenue near 13th Street.

He was charged with a host of offenses, including robbery, theft and weapons violations.

"He was a one-man crime army," Colarulo said. *