Man gets over 13 years for shooting mother, daughter during robbery at Northeast Philadelphia pizza shop
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia man who pleaded guilty to robbing a Northeast Philadelphia pizza shop and shooting two employees, a mother and daughter, last March was sentenced Wednesday to more than 13 years in prison.
The U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania said Kaleb Bridges, 20, will also have five years of supervised release and said he pleaded guilty last December to charges of Hobbs Act robbery and carrying, using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
"Kaleb Bridges' decision to rob this family business at gunpoint and shoot two members of that family was life-changing for the victims," said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero in the release. "While this crime occurred in a matter of minutes, it will long stay with the two women he shot and the witnesses who struggled to restrain him. It's also changed the course of Bridges' life, which, for the next decade-plus, will be lived locked away in prison."
Officials said Bridges went into Mayfair Pizza near Frankford Avenue in Holmesburg on March 8, 2023, right before closing, and showed a gun while demanding an employee empty the register and put the money into a bag. Before the employee could let go of the bag, they said, Bridges shot the employee in the shoulder and fired another shot hitting the refrigerator after she ducked down below the counter.
As Bridges was heading to the door with the bag of money, officials said the employee's father, who's also the owner, struggled with Bridges to prevent him from leaving. The father witnessed the incident.
They said Bridges was able to get the gun after it fell on the ground during a struggle and shot the employee's mother, who co-owns the pizza shop. Police took the mother and daughter to the hospital, where both were treated and later released.
The employees were able to hold Bridges until police arrived and he was taken into custody, according to the release.
The pizza shop reopened about two weeks after the shooting.