Sean Canales
A serial SEPTA cell phone thief has been captured in Frankford, police say.
At about 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, Philadelphia police arrested Sean Canales, 20, at Penn and Church streets for alleged drug offenses. Canales lives nearby on the 4300 block of Penn St.
With Canales in custody, officers discovered that SEPTA police had an outstanding warrant of arrest for the same prisoner in connection with seven cell telephone thefts on the Market-Frankford Line and the Broad Street Subway last year, said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.
The thefts occurred on trains, in stations or both, according to Busch. One tactic that thieves typically use is to grab a rider’s personal belongings, then jump off the train as the doors close just before it leaves a station, Busch said.
Canales’ alleged crimes occurred throughout 2013. He remains under investigation in connection with other SEPTA thefts, Busch said.
He has been charged with seven counts of robbery, in addition to drug possession with intent to deliver and related crimes. He is jailed at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30. ••
