FBI ARRESTS ARMED ROBBER, ONE STILL AT LARGE

Newark, NJ – New Jersey FBI agents arrested Tyrone Dennison, age 42, at a boarding house in West Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania on February 10, 2009 in connection with the armed robbery of a Sports Authority distribution facility in Burlington Township, New Jersey on April 5, 2008. The arrest, announced by Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun, was the result of criminal complaint filed in the district of New Jersey on February 2, 2009. Dennison and his co-conspirators, Anthony “Tim” Berry and Bernard “Bernie” Jacskon are charged with conspiracy to commit theft from an interstate shipment and use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

According to the federal criminal complaint, the Sports Authority Distribution Facility located at 200 Richards Run Road in Burlington Township, was robbed at gunpoint by three unknown black males. The assailants stole three trailers of Sports Authority Merchandise destined for stores on the East coast from Maine to Virginia. Two of the assailants approached the guard shack at approximately 5:45 pm and one of them displayed a weapon. They forced the guard into an empty trailer, tied him up, and made him to lay face down for three hours. One assailant, referred to in the complaint as “Subject #1”, stayed with the guard in the trailer. “Subject #2” returned to the guard shack to assume the role of the guard. At approximately 5:53 pm, “Subject #3” drove a Salson Logistics tractor (cab) (believed to have been stolen on March 28, 2008) and yelled to Subject #1 who was staying with the guard. The guard recognized the voice of the driver, Subject #3 as that of Bernard Jackson, a former Salson Logistics truck driver who had made deliveries and pick-ups at the distribution facility. Eventually, the Subject #1 took the guard’s wallet, car keys, and cell phone, and stated “we know where you live –don’t do anything stupid”, and then left the guard in the empty trailer. All of these events were captured on video security cameras. Over the course of four hours, the stolen Salson Logistics tractor returned to the distribution facility three times, each time leaving with a fully loaded trailer.

Between April 8 and May 16 of 2008, the three stolen trailers were recovered and identified as those stolen from the Burlington Township, New Jersey distribution center. Two trailers were recovered in Philadelphia Pennsylvania: one on Fox Street in the Huntington Park section, and one on Holstein Avenue. The latter trailer had been set on fire. That same day, May 16, 2008, FBI agents located the stolen Salson Logistics tractor in the vicinity of 74 th and Holstein Avenue, just a few blocks from the engulfed trailer. The third trailer was recovered in an industrial park in King of Prussia Pennsylvania.

On or around April 10, 2008, law enforcement received information that large amounts of Sports Authority merchandise were being sold from inside and around the Libertad Lounge located at 1601 North 5 th Street in Philadelphia. A search warrant executed by the Philadelphia Police Department confirmed this claim. Sports Authority personnel determined that this merchandise was, in fact, some of the merchandise stolen from the Burlington Township distribution facility on April 5, 2008. Law enforcement had also learned and confirmed that the stolen merchandise was originally sold to the Libertad bar owner by an individual who went by the name “Bernie”.

Subsequently, the FBI received an anonymous tip that three black males had robbed the Sports Authority Distribution Facility at gunpoint. The tipster advised that an individual named “Ty” remained with the guard, another individual named “Tim” was the person in the guard shack, and a third individual named “Bernie” who previously worked for Sports Authority was the one who drove the tractor.

This arrest comes after the commission of a second, unrelated, armed robbery by Berry, who acted alone, on February 2, 2009 in Pennsylvania. Additional federal charges for that offense have been filed against Berry by the Philadelphia Division of FBI. Anthony “Tim” Berry remains at large.

Dennison appeared before the Honorable Ann Marie Donio in federal court in Camden, New Jersey on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 and was remanded into federal custody. Bernard Jackson remains in Federal custody in Texas on unrelated federal charges.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun thanks the West Pottsgrove, Upper Merion and Philadelphia Police Departments, all in Pennsylvania, as well as the Burlington Township Police Department of New Jersey for their help in this matter. Anyone who has information related to the whereabouts of Anthony “Tim” Berry should contact the FBI’s Philadelphia office at (215) 418-4000. Any media inquiries concerning the February 2, 2009 robbery allegedly committed by Berry should contact the FBI Philadelphia Public Affairs Office at (215) 418-4417.

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