A West Philly man admitted his role in a botched Delco burglary that left his accomplice dead
Barry Roberts pleaded guilty to breaking into a home in Collingdale earlier this year.
A West Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to breaking into a Collingdale home earlier this year in a botched burglary that left his coconspirator dead.
Barry Roberts, 45, entered the plea to burglary this week in a negotiation with prosecutors that will see the remaining charges, including conspiracy and theft, withdrawn at his sentencing in January.
His attorney, Taylr Coben, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Roberts and another man, Davon Terry, forced their way into a home on Rhodes Avenue on April 8 in a plot to steal sneakers inside, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Roberts’ arrest.
Terry, 35, died in a fire that broke out during an hours-long police standoff after the burglary was reported, according to investigators.
The home targeted by the two men belongs to Michael Robinson, a former Radnor Middle School paraprofessional. At the time of the burglary, Robinson was in custody, awaiting extradition to Tyler, Texas, on an arrest warrant for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Robinson remains there, awaiting trial, court records show. He has denied the allegations.
On the day of the burglary, Robinson’s girlfriend said she saw on a Ring doorbell camera that two masked men were forcing their way inside the home, the affidavit said. During the break-in, the document said, they passed a black handgun back and forth to each other.
The woman, who was not at the home when the burglary took place, called 911.
When police arrived, the burglars barricaded themselves in the home, investigators said, prompting a response from SWAT team members and other local agencies.
During the standoff that followed, the officers threw a tear gas canister into the home, and a small fire broke out, the affidavit said. No shots were fired during the incident.
Roberts eventually crawled through a basement window in the home and surrendered, according to the affidavit.
Inside the home, investigators found a black handgun that matched the weapon both men were seen holding in the Ring camera footage, the document said.
Terry was found dead inside. The county medical examiner ruled the cause of his death was smoke inhalation, a county spokesperson said Wednesday.
