NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A Chester, Delaware County man is on trial in Montgomery County, accused of being an accomplice in an armed robbery of a Limerick department store during Christmas shopping season. That holdup was thwarted by an off-duty Lower Merion detective.
Zaire Ransom-Nelson, 31, is accused of being an accomplice of 21-year-old Von Curry in three armed robberies on Dec. 22, 2024, including at Kohl’s in Limerick.
Video from the Kohl’s robbery showed Curry pulling a gun on a 17-year-old Kohl’s cashier. As he did so, Lower Merion detective James Black — who was off duty and Christmas shopping with his family — walked up behind Curry, grabbed the arm holding the gun, pointed his own gun at Curry, and told him to drop the weapon and get down on the floor.
Black testified he became suspicious when he saw the two men in the parking lot dressed entirely in black, wearing masks, hoods and purple nitrile gloves. He said he alerted Montgomery County dispatch before following the men into the store.
The detective said he yelled to the second man, alleged to be Ransom-Nelson acting as a lookout. As he did so, Curry broke free of his grip and the two men ran. Both men were caught not far from Kohl’s.
Curry pleaded guilty to multiple counts of armed robbery and conspiracy and will be sentenced in June.
While prosecutors said Ransom-Nelson’s DNA is on the gun and in the stolen car used in the armed robberies, his lawyer said no witnesses can positively identify his client and there is no proof that the lookout in Kohl’s was an active participant in the robbery.
Jurors saw video showing off-duty Lower Merion detective thwarting the robbery
Jurors saw video showing off-duty Lower Merion detective thwarting the robbery
