Lookout, Getaway Driver Will Serve 10 to 20 After Burglarizing Montco Homes

He claims he was only the lookout and getaway driver, but a Montgomery County judge decided he deserved a serious punishment for his actions.

William Perkins, 64, of Philadelphia, has served much of his life in prison, and according to court dockets has a rap sheet several pages long. He was sentenced Wednesday to 10 to 20 years behind bars for his role in a string of burglaries that occurred in 2010.

As Patch reported at the time, Perkins, who also used the aliases of John Potter and William Potter, was taken into custody on Oct. 12, 2010 along with  John Daniel Wilson, 48, of Philadelphia. The duo had led Philadelphia Police on a high-speed chase which had ended in their arrests in Abington Township.

MainLineMedia.com reported that the two were picked up in a white pick-up truck in Abington, which had crashed causing minor injuries at the end of the chase.

The two were taken to Montgomery County Prison to await trial, while a third accomplice, a pawn shop owner named Robert Snyder, 73, of Fillmore Street, Philadelphia was sentenced only to ten years of probation.

Burglaries occurred in the areas of Abington, Upper Dublin, Upper and Lower Moreland and Montgomery Townships, as well as some parts of Bucks and Philadelphia counties.

At the time of arrest, NBC10 reported that at least four robberies had occurred in Montgomery County.

According to CBS3, Montgomery County prosecutor Jesse King says Perkins’ crimes have had an everlasting impact on his victims.

“Every single person stressed two things: the fact that their belongings are irreplaceable, and that their security was compromised and they no longer feel safe in their homes.  Most of them got security systems (and) they have trouble sleeping," said King to CBS.

One victim told the courts that it "felt like being punched in the stomach" when he'd learned his house had been broken into in 2010.

Court documents show that Perkins largely stole jewelry from area homes and would then pawn the pieces at a local pawn shop.

Judge Gary S. Silow was assigned the case, and sentenced Perkins to 10 to 20 years in prison for his crimes, which according to court dockets, totalled over 200 charges including burglary, criminal trespassing, receiving stolen goods and criminal mischief.