College friends, bank robbers

They robbed 17 banks - one of them twice - before they were caught.

The scores were slim - $5,580 from the Abington Bank, $3,666 from the PNC Bank branch in Gladwyne, $4,250 from a Commerce Bank in Cinnaminson - in a spree that ranged from Montgomery County to South Jersey.

The trio's ability to plan and pull off the heists may have been because these thieves weren't the usual high-school dropout, drug-addicted, living-on-the-margins bank robbers. Two had attended Pennsylvania State University. The third had just graduated from the Job Corps.

Now, they face potential decades in jail.

Today, Rasheid Malic Robinson, 22, will be sentenced in U.S. District Court. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he could receive 40 years.

Next month, Marquis Jamal Wicker, 22, a neighborhood friend of Robinson's from North Philadelphia, will be sentenced, followed later in the month by John Agot Canlas, 24, from Berks County.

Robinson and Canlas, who met at Penn State's Berks Campus during the 2005-06 school year, participated in each robbery. Wicker was involved in five, and twice brandished a rifle.

Family members of the two Philadelphia men are stunned.

"These kids weren't even drinkers. They sat around and drank cocoa on the step," said Wicker's grandmother, Gladys White, who, along with Wicker's father, helped raise him. The elder Wicker died of a heart attack in 2007 at 40.

Wicker and Robinson grew up together and attended Martha Washington School on 44th Street north of Fairmount Avenue. Robinson's father has "taken it pretty hard, because he tried. They thought [their son] was going to go college and do good," White said.

Why did they do it?

"It was money, definitely, and I think Mr. Robinson will address that" at today's hearing, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Salvatore L. Astolfi.

"My understanding it was trying to raise money to pay for college - but, what's interesting is that none of the money was saved," Astolfi added.

Lawyers for Robinson and Canlas did not return calls seeking comment. Immediate family members either could not be contacted or did not respond to a request for comment.

Ultimately, the trio was caught due to what Astolfi calls "excellent" work by local police and "a little bit of luck."

The robberies netted about $71,700. They started - and would end - at the same spot, the Abington Bank on Bethlehem Pike in Lower Gwynedd.

Wearing hats, sunglasses and latex gloves, Robinson and Canlas walked into the bank on July 24, 2008. Robinson passed a "demand note" to a teller, while Canlas told a second teller not to move. According to court documents, they got $5,580, and split it between them.

They struck again on Aug. 19, 2008, this time at the PNC Bank on Youngs Ford Road in Gladwyne. All three men participated, donning hard hats, reflective vests, dust masks, jeans, boots, and latex gloves. Wicker brandished a .22 caliber rifle.

They got $3,666.

Five days later, Robinson and Canlas struck in Cinnaminson - this time they simply wore hats and sunglasses - presenting a note and getting $4,250.

And so it went. In Marlton on Sept. 4, 2008 - their second robbery of the day - they got $200. The same day, they robbed Fulton Bank in Bensalem of $628.

Just before the end, they expanded their operation, hitting banks in Newark, Del., and Harrisburg.

Their last robbery was on Oct. 22, 2008, when they returned to the Abington Bank in Lower Gwynedd. All three participated.

This time, they wore masks. Canlas waited in the getaway car, while Wicker brandished the .22 caliber rifle and ordered everyone to lay down on the floor. It was their biggest take - $14,018 - but hidden inside the pile of cash was a dye pack and tear-gas canister.

As they headed north on Bethlehem Pike, both pack and cannister exploded. Red dye flew everywhere, and tear gas filled the car. They only got two blocks before pulling over behind a business, and throwing the rifle, masks and dye pack into the bushes.

Watching was a nearby store owner.

"He thinks they are throwing trash," recalled John Scholly, Lower Gwynedd chief of police, "and he goes out yelling at them."

Then the store owner spotted the rifle. He called 911 as the men piled back into their car and headed toward the intersection with Norristown Road.

"Just by luck, they were delayed from the dye pack. Two officers see the car making the turn onto Norristown Road and recognize the description," said Scholly.

Detective Sgt. Ronald Lynch and Lt. Gerry Gray, who had responded to the bank alarm in separate cruisers, forced the car over just before it reached the ramp for Route 309. Robinson was arrested outside the car, while Canlas and Wicker fled into nearby woods. Officers from more than seven towns responded, and a state police helicopter was called in for the search.

All three were in custody within the hour.

But not without tragedy. A police dog chasing the men encountered a Montgomery Township police officer in the woods.

"All the dog knows is that someone is in front of him," Scholly said, "and he bites the police officer. Unfortunately, the officer getting bitten - and he's really getting bitten - his gun accidentally goes off and kills the dog."

Andy, a K-9 dog from Plymouth Township, died later at a veterinary clinic. His handler, who had closed in on the struggling pair when the gun went off, narrowly escaped injury when the bullet struck his bulletproof vest after passing through the dog.

Robinson waived his rights and confessed to Montgomery County detectives. He has no criminal record. Wicker has one arrest on a minor charge. Canlas was arrested in 2007, one of a group of students accused of fraudulently using bank machine cards. He received a brief jail term and did not return to Penn State.

"That was the amazing thing, that they were at Penn State together," Scholly said.

He recalled thinking, "These really can't be bank robbers."