Watch: Video that helped police catch suspect in robbery of woman, 78
The assailant held a knife to the victim's throat.
This is a story of a suspected robber who allegedly pressed a knife to the throat of a 78-year-old woman and how he was undone by a video and a Winslow Township police officer who noticed a man wearing the same clothes as the thief caught on tape.
The crime unfolded about 3 p.m. July 21, when the woman was walking home on Lemer Court in the Lehigh Manor Development in the township's Sicklerville section and she crossed paths with a tall man dressed in a blue-striped shirt and shorts.
At first, there was nothing unusual as the two passed each other on the sidewalk. Then the man turned, pulled a knife from his pocket, and quickly approached the woman from behind. He put a hunting knife to her neck, snatched her purse, and ran off.
Investigators noticed a nearby home with surveillance cameras and asked the homeowner whether there was footage of the incident. On July 27, authorities obtained a 17-second recording of the robbery.
The next day, Patrolman Austin Schmidt spotted Jamal Gadson, 36, in the same area wearing the same clothes as the man in the video, Capt. Richard Ostermueller said. Gadson initially was arrested because he had outstanding warrants. He gave police permission to search his home.
There, police said, they found the knife. They said they also found the victim's purse and credit cards, which have since been returned to her. The $20 she had was gone, police said.
Gadson was charged with armed robbery, a weapons offense, and related charges.