Man robbed Salisbury Township convenience store at gunpoint, stole more than $5,000: police

Kenneth Frederick Byrd Jr.

A Chester County man pointed a gun at a clerk inside a Salisbury Township convenience store and demanded she give him money, then ran away with more than $5,000 in cash, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

Kenneth Frederick Byrd Jr., 61, of Downington, pointed the gun at the clerk while robbing a Sunoco store in the 7100 block of Division Highway on Jan. 8, the DA's office said in a news release Monday.

Byrd's case will head to the Lancaster Court of Common Pleas following a preliminary hearing Wednesday heard by Judge Raymond Sheller. He is charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor simple assault, terroristic threats and possessing an instrument of a crime.

The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office says the man seen here pointing a gun at a clerk inside the Salisbury Township Sunoco store on Jan. 8, 2022 is Kenneth Frederick Byrd Jr.

The clerk identified Byrd during the hearing, saying she "could not forget his eyes," according to the news release.

Jonathan Patrick Chieppor, Byrd's attorney, declined a request for comment Monday.

The clerk told state police she was counting money from a lottery machine behind the counter while preparing to close for the evening when a man matching Byrd's description entered the store wearing a gaiter-style face covering and went into the restroom.

The man exited the restroom and approached the clerk behind the counter as she was placing the money into a safe, pointing a gun at her and ordering her to "give me the bag," the DA's office said. The clerk then handed the robber a bag containing around $5,500 in cash.

Surveillance footage showed the robber walking with a limp and driving a red Honda Civic that belongs to Byrd's girlfriend.

A search of the Honey Brook address where Byrd and his girlfriend had been staying uncovered $2,715 in cash in an upstairs bedroom and a blank gun resembling the one used in the robbery in a full paint can in the garage. A gaiter-style face covering similar to the one worn during the robbery was found inside the Civic.

Authorities believe Byrd also robbed a Honey Brook Express in May 2021.

Judge Sheller set Byrd's bail at $150,000 in a preliminary arraignment Jan. 25. He remains in Lancaster County Prison, unable to post that amount, court records show.

Byrd will be formally arraigned March 11.

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