Man charged in South Phila. gunpoint robbery spree

Police today charged a man who has a long history of theft with committing 12 gunpoint robberies last month.

Eugene Jones, 42, of the 1900 block of Bonsall Street in South Philadelphia, has more than a dozen convictions for theft, drugs and other offenses dating to the early 1990s.

Jones came to the attention of police Aug. 30, after he was arrested on charges of robbing a woman in South Philadelphia. He has since been linked to 11 other armed robberies, many of them in South Philadelphia, said Capt. Laurence Nodiff of the city's South Detective Division.

No one was seriously injured in any of the robberies, though police said Jones pointed a semi-automatic gun at his victims and often loaded a round of ammunition into the chamber as a threat. He took money, wallets, credit cards and cell phones.

"This was definitely a crime spree," said Nodiff, who credited Detective Justin Montgomery with linking all the cases. "This guy obviously is a very dangerous criminal that we're happy to have in custody."

Jones began his spree Aug. 5 when he robbed two women in South Philadelphia, Nodiff said. Police believe he held up people on Aug. 6, 8, 10, 17, 21, 22 and 25.

About 6 p.m. Aug. 28 he robbed a couple a few blocks away from his home. That night, police said Jones sat down at a table near a couple eating outside a South Philadelphia restaurant and put a gun to the woman's side, demanding money from her and her companion.

Jones struck again within hours, robbing a couple about 2 a.m. About 8:15 p.m. Aug. 29, Jones approached a woman on the 2100 block of South 13th Street, dragged her into an alley and he tried to steal her purse.

The woman's screams drew attention from nearby people who managed to get a glimpse of his car as he fled. The police tracked Jones' tags to his house, where they arrested him the next day and found property stolen in other robberies.

Later, victims identified him using a photo lineup, police said.