Pocono News Section

Teens Rob Widow's Store

Teens Rob Widow's Store - Friday, January 16, 2009 at 3:57PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 @ 03:57pm EST
Millmont, Union County-

Two teens looking for drug money robbed a general store run by an 82-year-old woman this week in Union County.

According to police, a sixteen-year-old boy wielded a knife and demanded money from Delphia Shirk at Shirk’s Country Store in Millmont.

Another teen, 19-year-old Brett Mattern, stood watch outside.

Police say Shirk hit the store’s security alarm as she walked toward the cash register.

The move startled the teens. They quickly grabbed some cash and ran.

Neighbor Ashley Fulkroad noted, “She’s run the store most of her life, she lives upstairs in the apartment. She’s a very nice woman. She’d do anything for anybody. It’s sad to say that they have to go hit up an 81-year-old woman. But when you’re that desperate, they do what they have to do.”

The teens only made off with about $20. They were caught by police a short time later.

Shirk, a widow of 18 years, says this is the first time the store has been robbed after nearly a century in business.