by Alex Lloyd Gross
Most criminals are not smart. Like the two that were nabbed by Bensalem cops for an armed robbery that happened just a few hours prior. The entire incident started on July 20,2024 at about 2:40 AM. A male walked into the 7-Eleven on Route 1 and asked for a carton of cigarettes. When the clerk got the product, the male had a gun and demanded cash from the register, which he got. Police say he disappeared into the night.
Amanda Petherbridge
Upon reviewing security cameras, police found that he actually got into a car and drove south , into Philadelphia. Police used license plate readers and security cameras. About two hours later that car was back and police spotted it. They conducted a car stop about a half mile away from the original robbery scene, they said.
Inside the car was the same clothes worn by the robber. The female driver was identified as Amanda Petherbridge, 34, with no fixed abode. The passenger was Christopher Yelverton, 42, with no fixed abode. The two could not produce any insurance or a valid driver license, police said.
The vehicle was towed. A search warrant was requested, after officers saw $300.00 cash in the back and an unopened carton of Newports.
Police found four black face masks, narcotics, and a black Canik TP9 semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine loaded with 29 rounds of 9 mm ammunition. An investigation revealed that neither Petherbridge nor Yelverton had a firearm permit, and both were precluded by law from possessing a firearm. Bensalem detectives interviewed both subjects, who admitted to the 7-11 robbery and also admitted to two other gunpoint robberies outside of Bensalem Township.
Amanda Petherbridge and Christopher Yelverton were charged with Robbery, Criminal Conspiracy, Persons Not to Possess Firearms, Terrorist Threats, and related charges. They were arraigned by District Justice Maggie Snow and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10% of $100,000 bail.