Couple Accused of Robbery, Leaving Child Alone Waive Most Charges

A couple accused of stealing a car and leaving their child alone at home were before a judge recently.

Malcom Shields, 21, of Croydon, and Christine Speciale, 22, of Bristol, waived several charges onto Doylestown for trial last Tuesday. Three counts of robbery were withdrawn and the other original charges including theft, terroristic threats and endangering the welfare of a child stuck.

The couple is accused of stealing a car from the 7-Eleven on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Morrisville Borough minutes after midnight in early February.

The victim said he left is car on due to the cold and went inside the store. He went outside a short time later and found his 2002 Monte Carlo couple missing, police said.

Falls Township police responded to the 7-Eleven on West Trenton Avenue less than an hour later after the clerk reported that he was robbed by a couple, who were later identified as Shields and Speciale.

The clerk told police a male and female had come in, demanded money and stole lottery tickets and cigarettes. Speciale is accused of telling Shields to just shoot the clerk after he had trouble opening to register, police said.

The clerk was assaulted by Shields as he removed the employee’s phone from his pocket, police reported. Court papers detail an altercation where the clerk got the upper hand on Shields. The fight led to the suspects fleeing out the door with the clerk chasing them down the street.

As Falls and Morrisville police investigated the two incidents, a Bristol Township officer was flagged down near the Sunoco gas station of Veterans Highway (Route 413) at 2:13 a.m. by a clerk.

Shields and Speciale are accused of getting in an argument with a customer in the gas station. The customer said the two stole his friend’s car in Morrisville and ripped a purple bag from Shield. Inside the bag, the man found his friend’s cell phone and 59 unused lottery tickets, according to court papers.

The man who confronted the couple reportedly pursued the stolen car into Bristol Township, police said.

Bristol Township police searched the area and found the stolen Monte Carlo nearby. The vehicle was towed to the Falls Township police station.

Police said they later discovered Speciale’s 2-year-old son alone in a powerless residence on Harper Avenue in Morrisville. A detective found the toddler in a closed bedroom. The child had a soiled diaper and was near a working space heater. The couple’s roommates told police Shields and Speciale never asked them to look after the child and they had no idea the boy was alone.

Speciale previously worked at the Falls 7-Eleven they robbed and knew the layout, police said. The couple also reportedly knew the clerk because he started dating their friend, however, police say the clerk did not recognize the two, who had their faces concealed during the robbery.

Shield told police, according to court papers, the two planned to “rob someone or a store,” but said the theft of the car was spontaneous.

The couple remains in jail unable to post bail.