Officer Assigned To FBI Task Force Interrupted Langhorne Robbery, Authorities Say

A police officer assigned to an FBI task force shot an alleged robber Thursday night inside the Langhorne Borough 7-Eleven, according to court papers.

Charles Emrich II, 53, of Langhorne Manor, was hit with with two bullets around 9:45 p.m. after the task force member opened fire. The 53 year old was rushed to St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown with a police escort. As of Friday afternoon, authorities said he was expected to survive.

His roommate and alleged getaway driver John Sugalski, 66, of Langhorne Manor, was charged with robbery, conspiracy and related offenses. He was arraigned Friday morning by on-call District Judge Jan Vislosky and sent to prison on 10 percent of $950,000 bail.

Multiple sources said the FBI task force officer was assigned to the group from the Bensalem Police Department. The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office declined to confirm the task force officer’s employment.

According to court papers, roughly 10 7-Eleven stores in Bucks County and Mercer County, New Jersey, were hit by suspects matching Sugalski and Emrich’s description since April. The robberies included stores in Bensalem, Penndel, Middletown, and  the same Pine Street 7-Eleven in Langhorne.

New Jersey and Bucks County authorities pieced together information that put the two men as suspects in numerous robberies. Bensalem police along with the FBI Violent Crime Task Force began conducting surveillance on the mens’ shared residence in the 300 block of Hulmeville Road when they spotted a car leave Thursday night. The Bensalem officer assigned to the FBI task force saw an Acura pull up near the 7-Eleven and witnessed Emrich, who had his face covered, jump the counter near a 7-Eleven clerk.

The officer working on the FBI task force ordered Emrich to stop, but he came toward the lawman “aggressively from a short distance,” according to court papers.

The officer fired two shots in the store and hit Emrich, authorities said.

A knife was found next to Emrich and a clerk told investigators the alleged robber had displayed a knife.

Law enforcement from around Langhorne rushed to the 7-Eleven after the shooting call and medics took Emrich to the hospital. A second unidentified person was spotted receiving what appeared to be medical treatment.

Leading up to the robbery, customers were reportedly in the store.

Sugalski was arrested following the alleged robbery attempt and told Bensalem police that he had only driven Emrich to get cigarettes from the store.

Bucks County Detectives and the FBI were handling the probe into the law enforcement-involved shooting.

“Federal authorities are assisting in the investigation because of their involvement in the underlying incident. As is protocol for a shooting involving law enforcement in Bucks County, charging determinations will be made by District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub,” a statement from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said.

FBI special agents, Pennsylvania State Police troopers, Bucks County Detectives, and officers from Bensalem, Middletown, and Langhorne Borough were at the crime scene through early Friday morning. A large crime scene response truck lit up the scene as investigators retrieved evidence and worked the scene.

Staff from the 7-Eleven were comforted by family members following the shooting.

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Police were spotted retrieving surveillance video from the store after the shooting. A clip viewed from afar by a reporter showed a man jumping the counter and then police rushing the 7-Eleven.

Detectives were at the Hulmeville Avenue home where the two men lived on Friday as part of their probe.

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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.

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