John Mathis Charged for Robbing T-Mobile in Philly Before He Was Shot by Police

John Mathis, the Levittown man who allegedly pointed a gun at a motorist; the guy who reportedly refused to comply with police commands, shot three times by that officer is now the face of crime in Lower Bucks County and beyond after he was charged with robbing a Philadelphia cell phone store authorities announced Thursday afternoon at a Justice Center press conference.

The one-man crime spree, who after the objections of the Bucks County DA’s office was released back out into the community by Senior Judge John P. Capuzzi at the Court of Common Pleas, according to online court records earlier this year was charged for robbing a T-Mobile Cell Phone Store.

Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn announced the new charges on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Bucks County Detectives filed one count each of robbery and theft by unlawful taking, two counts each of prohibited possession of a firearm, firearms not to be carried without a license, receiving stolen property, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, and three counts of recklessly endangering another person, said Schorn.

Credit: Submitted

At 4:54 p.m. on August 2, Mathis entered a Metro by T-Mobile cellular phone store at 7221 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia. He displayed a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded money from employees. An estimated $1,000 in U.S. currency was stolen from the cash register before Mathis fled the scene on a black Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle northbound into Bucks County.

Within 60 minutes of entering the county in Bensalem Township, this is when Mathis allegedly menaced a motorist by pointing a gun at him and his girlfriend. This led to the convict bailing off his motorcycle, which crashed into a Bensalem Police cruiser, while attempting to flee. The officer fired his weapon after Mathis failed to comply with commands to stop and show his hands, authorities said.

He was also charged with evading arrest or detention on foot, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving and driving an unregistered vehicle. Mathis, who is currently in Bucks County Correctional Facility, will be arraigned on Friday.

Mathis has a bail amount of $1 million set in connection with the Bensalem case and has two other open cases in Bristol Township.