EMMANUS, PENNSYLVANIA — A man sitting in his car in the parking lot of his employer around 5 am on Friday, October 9th, found himself in scary situation…a pistol pointed at his face and the man behind it demanding that he exit the car and give up his wallet.
He did get out, but instead of handing over his wallet, he fought the would-be robber. During the struggle, the armed man managed to get free and get to the other side of the car where he fired a shot that shattered the window and lodged in the passenger door window frame. The victim reached into the Volkswagen Golf and came out with his own handgun, giving chase to the suspect through the parking lot and onto the sidewalk of the 700 block of Broad Street, according to Emmanus Police. During the chase, the suspect fired another shot at the victim which missed the victim’s head by inches before running out of sight.
Around 7:30, while police were still on the active crime scene, a man riding a bicycle approached the scene. As investigators were waiting for the man to identify himself, the victim called police and identified the bicyclist as his attacker. The man, 49-year-old Chad David Frankenfield of the 900 block of North 20th Street, was arrested.
Another person near the scene recognized the bicycle and surmised that it had been stolen from his father’s house. Investigators recovered a prybar in bushes near the parking lot, along with a new boxed headlamp reported stolen from inside a nearby vehicle.
Frankenfield, previously convicted of felonious burglary, was also charged for the possession of a chrome revolver. He appeared before District Judge Michael D’Amore on charges of attempted homicide, attempted aggravated assault, attempted robbery, possession of a firearm when prohibited, two counts of theft, receiving stolen property and possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Due to the attempted homicide charge he was denied bail. He is scheduled to appear before District Judge Donna Butler for a preliminary hearing on October 27th.
Fighting back against an armed individual is always a critical judgment call for the victim, with many unknowns and variables. The possible results are the injury or death of the suspect and victim, or both. This victim was fortunate that both rounds intended for him missed, and that he didn’t fire his own handgun and wound a fleeing suspect, which would have also subjected him to possible criminal charges.
