Ceferino Hernandez, 49, from Reading, Pennsylvania, was arrested on Friday in connection with a March 2024 armed robbery at the Southgate Mall in Chambersburg, where hundreds of thousands of dollars in Pennsylvania Skill Machine cash were stolen. Hernandez is accused of being involved in the theft, which involved three suspects stealing $271,000 in cash from security guards who were making cash pickups at the mall.
According to a criminal complaint, Hernandez, along with two accomplices, approached the security van and forced the guards into the vehicle at gunpoint. One of the guards was struck with a pistol, and the suspects took the victims’ firearms. After the robbery, the stolen cash was dumped in various locations around Chambersburg, with the last case found near Caledonia State Park.
Police traced the getaway van to a garage in Reading, where they discovered documents linking Alfredo Cardona-Padilla, the getaway driver, to the crime. Phone records also connected Hernandez to the robbery. Cardona-Padilla was arrested in April and is currently going through court proceedings.
Hernandez, who has a criminal history including a 2013 drug conviction and a 2024 firearm charge, now faces multiple felony charges, including robbery, aggravated assault, and firearm offenses. He also faces two misdemeanor charges for unlawful restraint. Hernandez is being held without bail at the Franklin County Prison, with a preliminary hearing set for January 21.
