Lower Merion detective honored for ‘outstanding work’ in auto theft investigation

Detective Gregory Pitchford of Lower Merion receives an award from Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele during Steele’s annual law enforcement awards ceremony on May 21, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)

PLYMOUTH – The “outstanding work” of a Lower Merion Township detective that led to the arrest and conviction of a man who robbed a woman at gunpoint in the township has been recognized by Montgomery County’s top law enforcement official.

Lower Merion Detective Gregory Pitchford received an award from District Attorney Kevin R. Steele on May 21 during Steele’s annual law enforcement awards ceremony.

“I am proud to recognize this outstanding work of yours,” Steele said to Pitchford as he presented him with the award during the ceremony at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Campus in Plymouth Township.

Pitchford was honored for leading the investigation that resulted in the arrest of 23-year-old Zyere Raymone Hamilton of Philadelphia, who was sentenced in January to 6 to 12 years in prison with 10 years of probation, following release from prison, after pleading guilty to charges of auto theft, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery with an unknown man in connection with the Aug. 22, 2022, carjacking of a woman near the Merion train station.

A no-contrary plea is not an admission of guilt, but rather an admission that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to prove the charges in a court of law.

That evidence was collected by Pitchford, who was “put on the case even though there were few leads,” Steele said.

Pitchford reviewed surveillance footage from various cameras at the train station and in the Philadelphia area where the car was eventually left, as well as call records from Hamilton’s cellphone, to link him to the car theft, Steele said.

The investigation began on Aug. 22 at approximately 9:15 p.m. when police responded to a report of a “car theft at gunpoint” in the parking lot of the Merion SEPTA station on Civic Circle in the township, according to the criminal complaint filed by Pitchford.

A township woman told investigators that after getting off a train, she was walking to her Honda CRV parked in the parking lot when she heard a man’s voice say, “Don’t shout, give me the keys, give me the keys.”

“(The victim) stated that she was pushed forward as if the actor was trying to force her into her car,” Pitchford wrote in court documents, adding that the victim remembered pushing backwards to avoid falling into the car. “When (the victim) turned around, she saw two actors, both armed with handguns.”

The victim told investigators that one of the gunmen grabbed her purse and she fell to the ground. The purse’s contents, including an envelope containing $1,000 in cash, fell to the ground. At that point, the second man yelled “money, money” while pointing a gun at her and picking up the money, the criminal complaint states.

The victim was able to get up and run away from the parking lot. The woman ran to a nearby residence where she got help and notified police. The woman’s vehicle was stolen during the incident.

On August 24, police found the victim’s purse on a street in the township, but the cash was missing.

On September 2, the woman’s stolen Honda CRV was found abandoned in an alley behind North 59th Street in Philadelphia. In court documents, authorities claimed that camera footage showed Hamilton walking in an area not far from where the Honda was found unoccupied. Pitchford claimed Hamilton’s size matched the carjacking victim’s description of the two men who attacked her.

The award given to Pitchford was one of several honors given to four civilians and more than three dozen police officers during Steele’s annual awards ceremony for police officers. Steele said awards are given to those who make extraordinary efforts and do exemplary work to protect and support the residents of Montgomery County.

“These are stories about how someone goes the extra mile to solve a crime, save a life, close an investigation, protect others, or act quickly when police officers and civilians put themselves in danger,” Steele said.