Four charged in U. Darby home invasion

Three men and one woman, all from Philadelphia, have been arrested and charged with an Upper Darby home invasion, and authorities were investigating whether they were connected with similar crimes in the city and suburbs.

Charged recently were Clarence Powell, 22, of the 1200 block of North 15th Street; Troy D. Hill, 34, of the 2500 block of North 32d Street; Michael Lassiter, 26, of the 200 block of South 52d Street; and Alexis Angelique Byrd-Arroyo, 19, of the 100 block of South 61st Street.

All were charged with robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and weapons offenses, Upper Darby Superintendent of Police Michael J. Chitwood said.

At the time of his arrest, Powell was in custody in Philadelphia. Byrd-Arroyo has been in custody since December on robbery charges. Hill was arrested Wednesday by police and the FBI.

Lassiter, who was arrested yesterday, had an outstanding warrant for parole violations. According to parole authorities, Lassiter, who served 71/2 years of a 6- to 12-year sentence for robbery, was released from prison in January 2008. He stopped reporting to parole authorities on April 30.

"These guys are bad guys. I call them urban terrorists," Chitwood said. He labeled Lassiter the "ring leader."

Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker said authorities felt the four were "strongly linked" to home invasions at Drexel and Temple Universities last last year.

Walker said about five home-invasion robberies had occurred on the two campuses. In some cases, the robbers wore masks. Often, computers or other electronics were taken.

On Dec. 18, two women returning home to the 100 block of Barrington Road in Upper Darby had opened the front door when they were accosted by three men with guns, according to court documents.

The men ordered them to the floor and demanded money. A third woman, on the second floor, heard a scream, came downstairs, and also was held at gunpoint. The intruders locked the women in a second-floor bedroom and left with about $3,000 in cash, jewelry, cell phones and credit cards.

An unmarked police car, according to court records, followed but lost the trio in Philadelphia. Police later found their car.

Last month, police arrested five men and charged them in connection with at least 10 robberies in Delaware County and Philadelphia.

A Dec. 1 home invasion in the 400 block of Hampshire Drive in Marple remains under investigation, detectives said.

Last Friday's killing of Robert Chae, a Korean American businessman from Montgomery Township, is also unsolved. Chae was ambushed and killed by three men as he opened his garage door to leave for work at 5 a.m.

"We are looking at everything," Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele said. "We are developing some leads."