Kalinowski, Bob. "Police: Fingerprints left on whiskey bottles help to ID 'apologetic robber'.

" Citizens' Voice, The

(Wilkes-Barre, PA)16 Apr. 2015: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
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Bob Kalinowski
April 16--Wilkes-Barre Township police say they identified the so-called apologetic liquor store robber using clues
from a bottle of booze.
Police obtained the suspect's fingerprints from a bottle of whiskey he picked up April 3 inside the Wine and Spirits
store before he pulled a gun on a clerk, apologized and claimed he was committing the robbery "for his kids."
The suspect temporarily picked up a fifth of Gentleman Jack while in the whiskey section, but then put it back on the
shelf and grabbed the much larger and more expensive half-gallon version of the liquor, police said in a recently filed
arrest warrant.
Investigators said they took fingerprints from the smaller glass bottle the robber restocked on the shelf. Laboratory
analysis recently determined the suspect is Pedro Ewing, a 42-year-old ex-con from Pittsburgh who is wanted by the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
"Probably the best type of surface to get a fingerprint off is glass," said veteran fingerprint expert Wayne Reutzel,
who works for the crime scene unit of the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office.
A fingerprint match -- along with corroborating evidence like surveillance camera footage in this case -- are "all
pieces of the puzzle" that help police identify the correct suspect, Reutzel said.
State police at Wyoming said township police obtained quality fingerprints from the crime scene, which helped the
crime laboratory match Ewing to thefingerprints within only four days.
"That is a good turnaround time," Reutzel said.
Now that the identification is complete, police are trying to track down Ewing, who is wanted on charges of robbery,
theft and illegal firearms possession
According to the arrest warrant:
Police said Ewing, acting like a regular shopper, entered the store in the Wilkes-Barre Township Marketplace just
after 9 a.m. on April 3 and walked over to the bourbon and whiskey aisle. He first picked up the standard size bottle of
Gentleman Jack whiskey, but put it back on the shelf after inspecting it briefly. He then grabbed a half-gallon bottle of
Gentleman Jack, worth $59.99, and a fifth of Evan Williams bourbon, valued at $10.99, and walked to the checkout
counter with the items.
Ewing soon pulled a gun on the clerk and demanded, "Give me all your money" and "Open the drawer." After
receiving the money, Ewing apologized to the clerk. "I'm sorry. I'm doing this for my kids," he said.
Investigators said Ewing got away with $82 cash and $70.98 worth of liquor and fled in a car behind the nearby WalMart store.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact the Wilkes-Barre Township police detective's division
by calling 570-208-4635, ext. 870, by emailing crimetips@twp.wilkesbarre.pa.us or by sending a private message to
the department's Facebook page.
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com
570-821-2055, @cvbobkal
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