Comic book store owner is tied up and beaten as truck drivers rob business, officials say
Two men have been arrested after officials said they robbed a comic book store and assaulted the owner.
On Sept. 18, 2022, two men, later identified as Caleb James-Lorenze Simpson, 35, and Zackery Maximus Tucker, 22, entered a comic book store in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, according to a news release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
The men acted as if they were customers and asked the store owner to help them get an item from a high shelf. While the owner was on a ladder, one of the men “violently” knocked him off and he fell to the ground, officials said.
“The two males began to beat the victim, then tied him up and held a knife to his face threatening to kill him if he did not cooperate,” officials said.
Simpson and Tucker then pulled out two duffel bags and filled them with a laptop, the owner’s keys, cash, comic books, Pokémon cards, action figures and other items from the store, officials said.
Officials said that while police were pursuing the men, they left the bags nearby in the woods. While searching the area, police found clothing believed to belong to one of the men, according to officials.
The store owner suffered from “numerous contusions, lacerations, and broken ribs,” officials said.
On Dec. 19. 2023, officers received a tip that two truckers were responsible for the attack and robbery. Authorities identified Tucker and Simpson as the two men seen in surveillance footage, officials said.
DNA collected at the scene also came back as a match to Simpson, according to investigators.
McClatchy News reached out to Tucker’s attorney for comment March 21 but did not immediately hear back. An attorney for Simpson was not listed in court records.
Tucker was arraigned March 18 on charges of robbery, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Simpson was also charged and is in custody in Michigan awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania, officials said.
Feasterville is a 20-mile drive northeast from Philadelphia.
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