Pottstown High School student arrested, charged after alleged robbery

By Caroline Sweeney
casweeney@pottsmerc.com 

POTTSTOWN — A Pottstown High School student was arrested Wednesday morning after allegedly using a BB gun in an attempt to rob a man Tuesday night.
Christian Ortiz-Hernandez, 17, of Pottstown, faces one felony count of robbery and several misdemeanor charges in connection with the incident at the corner of North Charlotte and Beech Streets.
Ortiz-Hernandez, according to police, allegedly used a BB gun to try and intimidate a victim into turning over his bicycle around 8:30 p.m.
During their investigation, officers learned the accused approached the victim and pulled a black gun from his waistband before demanding the victim leave his bicycle.
The victim, according to police, “did not react due to the subject’s young appearance.”
But when the victim did not react to the alleged threats by Ortiz-Hernandez, he put the gun away and fled west on Beech Street.
Using the description the victim gave, officers began searching the area and found Ortiz-Hernandez standing with four other people, police said. Ortiz-Hernandez and another boy fled when officers arrived.
According to police, Ortiz-Hernandez ran away from his foster family.
However, when officers responded to the house Wednesday morning, a woman there said Ortiz-Hernandez went to school.
Around 7:45 a.m., officers responded to the Pottstown High School.
At the time of his arrest, Ortiz-Hernandez was not armed.
“There was no disruption to the normal school schedule and no students or staff were placed in danger at any time,” stated the release from the Pottstown School District.
District Judge Scott T. Palladino set $25,000 bail for Ortiz-Hernandez, who is confined to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of that bail, according to court documents.
He is scheduled to appear again in court on June 5 at 8:15 a.m.