A vagabond has been arrested after he allegedly attacked and robbed a business owner in Schuylkill County earlier this week.
Police in Kline Township reported on Wednesday that they were looking for an unknown male who attacked the owner of JF Enterprises at about 4:40 p.m. on Sept. 3.
The business owner told police that he’d been assaulted and robbed and that the suspect had taken a gun and nearly $1,000 in cash from his pockets.
Police say they obtained nearby video surveillance footage which reportedly showed the suspect – later identified as Chase Lynn Abbit, 21, who has no fixed address – attacking the business owner.
A court docket from Luzerne County indicates Abbit may be from Los Angeles.
Abbit reportedly walked into the business property from Route 309 (aka Mile Hill Rd. in that area). The video evidence showed police that Abbit struck the business owner in the head, knocking him to the ground with his head hitting the pavement.
Police say Abbit is then seen going through the victim’s pockets before he starts to walk away from the scene.
Abbit then returns to the scene soon after that altercation, drags the victim by his feet toward the building. He then grabbed the victim by the shoulders, attempting to pick him up but then drops him and once again hitting his head off the pavement.
Abbit finally leaves the scene for good and heads off into a wooded area.
The following day, police in Butler Township, Luzerne County, said they’d received a call that Abbit was seated in front of a business there. At that time, police took Abbit into custody.
During an interview with Kline Township Police, the suspect reportedly said that he’d walked into the victim’s building to use an electrical outlet to charge his phone. That’s when the victim approached him and allegedly began arguing with him and told him to leave.
Abbit said the victim “chopped” him in the throat and that he responded by punching him in the face twice, causing the business owner to fall backwards and hit his head on the pavement.
“I made a mistake by going through his pockets,” Abbit reportedly told police, according to court documents.
Police say they asked Abbit why he initially came back to the scene after knocking out the victim and robbing him. Abbit reportedly replied that he thought the victim might need help. He said he tried to help him get up but couldn’t and dropped him
Abbit said he followed the railroad tracks toward Hazleton, slept in a bus shelter, and then wandered to the area where he was eventually discovered.
Police say when Abbit was apprehended, he had the gun he allegedly stole from the business owner in Schuylkill County plus about $400 in cash.
Abbit is facing charges from both police departments involved in his apprehension.
In Luzerne County, he’s been charged with felony counts of receiving stolen property and carrying an unlicensed firearm, along with a misdemeanor offense for marijuana possession.
In Schuylkill County, Abbit is facing felony counts of robbery, aggravated assault, and theft.
Records show Abbit is being held in Luzerne County Prison after being denied bail at his Sept. 4 arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Daniel O’Donnell.
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