NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
19 Sep 2006

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR THREE HOLD-UPS SINCE YESTERDAY

Mayor Stephen R. Reed this afternoon said that Harrisburg police have arrested a woman wanted in connection with the robberies of three downtown businesses over the last 24 hours. She was taken into custody in Strawberry Square just after her second attempted robbery today.

The Mayor said city police are now charging 49-year old Sandra K. Chandler, no current address, with multiple counts in connection with her robbery yesterday afternoon of the Pealer’s Flower Shop in Strawberry Square, and her attempted robberies this morning of the Harrisburg Hospital Gift Shop and the Avon Store in Strawberry Square. Strawberry Square security officers were able to take her into custody during the latest robbery and held her for police.

Reed said Chandler walked into the Pealer’s Flower Shop in Strawberry Square yesterday afternoon around 2 p.m. She kept her hand in a bag she was carrying and told the female clerk that she had a gun and wanted all the money out of the register. The clerk complied and Chandler told her not to call anyone for 5 minutes as there was a man with a gun watching her. Chandler then fled on foot.

At 11:30 a.m. this morning, Chandler walked into the gift shop inside Harrisburg Hospital, again with her hand in a bag and claiming to have a gun, and ordered the female clerk to open the register and give her the money. The clerk told her she could not open the register without first making a sale. Chandler twice more ordered the clerk to open the register before fleeing the premises empty-handed.

Just before Noon Chandler walked into the Avon Store in Strawberry Square and repeated her ploy. An alert Strawberry Square security officer observed what was taking place and took her into custody without incident. She has been taken to city police headquarters where she is being processed and awaiting arraignment later today.

Reed said Chandler faces multiple counts of robbery and attempted robbery and will likely be remanded to Dauphin County Prison. No weapon was recovered or is believed to have existed.