Window Cleaners - Two Daylight Robberies

This van, which was stopped by Easton and Phillipsburg police early Monday morning after an armed robbery in Phillipsburg was taken without the company's permission, one of George Hanisak Window Cleaning LLC's owners said this morning.

Van allegedly used in robbery, burglary was taken without permission, business owner says: A business' van that was allegedly used Monday as the getaway vehicle in an armed robbery and a burglary was taken without the company's permission, a principal in George Hanisak Window Cleaning LLC said this morning. Saying she was "very, very upset," Maria Heaton, who runs the company with her brother, James Hanisak, and sister, Nancy Lee Roth, said the company has been getting calls asking how it could allow its truck to be used in alleged criminal acts. The van was parked off-site and the company did not know it had been taken, she said.

Heaton's nephew, Cody Hanisak, of the 6000 block of Sullivan Trail in Wind Gap, was charged Tuesday along with Sarah M. Brittain, of Belvidere, in an armed robbery early Monday at a Shell gas station on Memorial Parkway in Phillipsburg. The van was also believed to have been used during a burglary in Bethlehem Township, Pa., township police said Tuesday.

Cody Hanisak no longer works for the company, Heaton said, but she said police asked her not to divulge details of when his employment ended. She said she also isn't allowed to say if the van was reported stolen, but Phillipsburg police said Hanisak wasn't charged with auto theft. Heaton did say the owners didn't know it was missing until town police notified them it had been recovered. "We had no idea" the van was missing, she said. "... He went there and took it." The company was founded 65 years ago by Heaton's father, George Hanisak. He operated it until his death in December 2011, after which three of his children took it over and have been doing very well, Heaton said.

Phillipsburg police take a man into custody about 4:15 a.m. Monday during an investigation into an armed robbery at a Shell gas station about 2 a.m. on Memorial Parkway.

Phillipsburg gas station robbed, two people taken into custody:  A man and woman were taken into custody early this morning about two hours after an armed robbery at a Shell gas station  at 598 Memorial Parkway in Phillipsburg, town police report. The gas station was robbed about 2 a.m. by what was originally thought to be two men but later changed to a man and a woman, due to conflicting reports, police said. One of the suspects displayed what police believe was a toy gun, according to emergency radio reports. Police could not immediately confirm that detail. Police would not say how much, if any, money was stolen.

One of the suspects was wearing a black hooded jacket, the other a red hooded jacket and they ran toward Bates Street, police said. About the same time, a white van with Hanisak Window Cleaning written on it was reported to police as driving erratically in the 300 block of Bates Street, according to emergency radio dispatches. Police confirmed the description of the van. Emergency radio broadcasts in the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey provided details about the van, and an Easton patrol officer spotted it at 4:15 a.m. and followed it across the Northampton Street free bridge, town police said. Phillipsburg police aided in a traffic stop at Chintewink Alley, where the man and woman were taken into custody, according to police.

The two people were taken to Phillipsburg police headquarters, and the van was impounded. As of 7 a.m., no charges had been filed. Police would not confirm the identity of the people in custody, saying that information would be released later today. The investigation is ongoing, police said. "There is no threat to the public," police Sgt. Sandor Gal said. "It should be wrapped up today." A news release is expected mid-morning, Gal said, but it never came. Detective Sgt. Mike Swick said at that time that charges hadn't been filed and the investigation was continuing.

Authorities may be close to making an arrest in an early Monday morning burglary in Bethlehem Township, Pa., according to police. Electronic items and other valuables were taken after 3 a.m. from 4088 Freemansburg Ave., police say. A van was stopped early Monday in Phillipsburg with items inside similar to those reported stolen from the Freemansburg Avenue home. Bethlehem Township Chief Daniel Pancoast said the van in question was white and belonged to a window cleaning company. The van, matching the description, was pulled over in Phillipsburg after reports of an armed robbery at the Memorial Parkway Shell gas station. Pancoast said he was unaware of a connection between the township burglary and the New Jersey armed robbery. Phillipsburg police impounded the van, township police say, allowing for a more thorough search of the contents. Bethlehem Township police say they expect to release more information after interviews with the vans' occupants and a complete search of the van. Phillipsburg police said it was premature to comment on the Bethlehem Township burglary, citing the ongoing investigation.

Window cleaner Graham Gore-Thorne in daylight robbery.

Window cleaner tells how he chased robbers who stole £25,000 being delivered to HSBC in Ringwood, Hampshire: A window cleaner has described how he chased two robbers as they fled on a scooter after snatching cash from a security guard outside a Hampshire bank. Graham Gore-Thorne was among half a dozen have-a-go heroes who tried to stop the pair who escaped with what is thought to be around £25,000. One robber wrenched a cash box away from the guard as he arrived to make a delivery in a busy High Street. He then jumped on to the back of his accomplice’s scooter as a group of bystanders chased him. The robbers sped off up Mansfield Road towards the A31 dual carriageway, removing the money and throwing the box away.

Staff were inside the Lloyds TSB bank and lots of shoppers were already in Ringwood High Street yesterday morning when the raid happened. Graham said: “I was walking down the road when I noticed a scooter with its headlights on. “I heard a commotion and somebody shouted and this man outside the bank grabbed a case from the security guard. “He jumped on the back of the scooter and as he got on, he opened the case up and took the money out. “Then he threw the case on the floor.” The Black Honda SH300 scooter-style motorbike they used was later found abandoned at Narrow Lane in nearby Poulner, near the slip road on to the eastbound side of the A31.

Robbers snatch cash from security guard outside Ringwood Lloyds: Two robbers fled on a scooter after snatching cash from a security guard outside a bank yesterday morning. Staff were inside the Lloyds TSB bank and lots of shoppers were already in Ringwood High Street yesterday morning when one of the men jumped out and grappled the cash cassette from the guard after he had arrived outside to make a delivery. The robber jumped onto the back of his accomplice’s scooter as a group of bystanders chased after the two men, but they made it away with what was believed to be £25,000.

Graham Gore-Thorne, a window cleaner, was among the five or six have-a-go heroes who chased after them as they pulled the money from the cassette and discarded the empty case on the street. He said: “I was walking down the road when I noticed a scooter with its headlights on. “I heard a commotion and somebody shouted and this man outside the bank grabbed a case from the security guard. “He jumped on the back of the scooter and as he got on, he opened the case up and took the money out.  “Then he threw the case on the floor.” Graham said he heard that £25,000 was taken as he gave his statement. A Hampshire police spokesman said no one was hurt in the incident but ‘bank staff and the guard were left shocked by what happened’.

Staff at Lloyds told the Echo they heard a lot of shouting when the robbery happened outside. Afterwards the robbers fled up Mansfield Road towards the dual carriageway. And the Black Honda SH300, scooter-style motorbike they used was later found abandoned at Narrow Lane in Poulner, near the slip road on to the eastbound side of the A31. Witnesses said the robbers wore dark clothing and police believe the pair travelled from outside the area to commit the robbery. Chris Patterson, of W Patterson Butchers in High Street, said he saw the robbers flee past the security guard’s van. He said: “The case came flying out open into the street when they left. “Someone from Lloyds told me they got £25,000. “The guys at the bank said those cash cases just pop open and they were gone in seconds.”