Published: August 18, 2008 11:20 pm            

TOWN OF TONAWANDA: Police nab two after Burger King robbery

Two masked men, one of them armed with a pistol, robbed a fast-food restaurant in the Town of Tonawanda early Monday morning, police said.

After a brief chase, police apprehended Justin D. Chamberlain, 21, of Bedford Avenue, Buffalo, and Sir Prince Sommerville, 23, of Allenhurst Road, Amherst, charging each with multiple counts of robbery and assault.

The robbery occurred just after midnight at the Burger King at 1140 Niagara Falls Blvd. Police tracked the suspects down as they were heading west on Briarhurst Drive and pulled them over at Sheridan Drive and Fries Road, about a mile from the restaurant.

Chamberlain, who was the driver, was taken into custody, but his passenger, Sommerville, fled on foot, according to police reports. Officer Edward Lattuca gave chase in his patrol car and spotted Sommerville running west on Sheridan.

Sommerville ran through a fence opening behind a Long John Silver’s restaurant on Sheridan, at which point Lattuca chased him on foot. Lattuca apprehended Sommerville on the front lawn of a residence by using his Taser gun to stop the suspect.

Lt. Daniel Murphy and officers John Oddo, Derek Scott, Timothy Connolly and Darren Hearitt assisted in the arrests.

Police said that a Burger King manager was closing the drive-thru when she noticed the back door was propped open.

As she went to secure the door, Chamberlain and Sommerville entered the restaurant. Huddled up on the floor, the woman began screaming. That’s when, police say, one of the men hit her in the head with what appeared to be a silver handgun and demanded that she give them the keys to the safe.

One of the subjects then pointed a small pistol at a female cashier, again demanding keys to the safe. While the robbers tried to open the safe, the manager called 911 and locked her and the other employee in the office.

The robbers opened one of the registers, taking approximately $300 cash, although an exact amount is still unknown, police said. Two $20 bills and the pistol were found near the scene of the crime.

        

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