EXCLUSIVE: Man Wanted In Robbery Spree Linked To Rape; Victim Speaks Out
By Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A suspected serial robber is linked to a rape and Wednesday night, his victim spoke out for the first time only to Eyewitness News.
"I'm trying to get myself together, I want to go back home, I miss my house."
It is heartbreaking to hear a 62-year-old woman yearning to return home. But you can understand why she is scared to even show her face or use her name when you learn what she endured inside her home near 23rd and Clearfield Streets, at the hands of the two men police say were caught on surveillance video.
"I thought my life was over, I begged for my life. I said, you want money? I got money downstairs. It was two in the house and they said: This is the fire department. That's when I screamed and then they choked me and the other one tried to put the pillow on my face and I wiggled myself off the bed but they flew me back on the bed."
Raheim Riggins is now wanted for the March 20th rape and robbery of the 62-year-old.
Detectives from the Philadelphia Police Department's Special Victims Unit worked tirelessly to identify the suspect who we now learn is one of two men wanted in another crime spree.
Police say since June, Riggins and Hashiem Clark robbed at least 12 people and sexually assaulted a teenager.
We are told Central Detective Division's Special Investigations Unit is investigating a series of gunpoint robberies occurring in the early morning hours along Lehigh Avenue between 22nd and 29th Streets. Police believe each robbery has been committed by Riggins and Clark, both armed with handguns.
Several surveillance videos have been recovered from the area that clearly shows the offenders. The males got away with money, cell phones and debit cards. During one of the robberies, police say the males sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl.
It is news that did not surprise the 62-year-old victim now desperate for justice.
"Let them know they can't keep doing this to anyone. If that happened to their mother or grandmother, then they'd be ready to kill them."
If you have any information about this crime or these suspects, you're asked to contact Central Detectives Division by calling 215-686-3047 or Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.
You may also submit a tip by dialing 215-686-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.
