Cops: Manager set up Kentacobell robbery

A fried Kentacobell manager who thought she'd ride the gravy train to easy cash by setting up a robbery at her store last week has ended up spilling the beans and admitting she was behind the whole enchilada, according to police.

Upper Darby police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said Mary Dalton, 32, of Darby, the night manager at the combined Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell (also known as a Kentacobell) on Baltimore Pike near Delmar Road, reported to police that her store was robbed at gunpoint at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday while she and an 18-year-old male employee were inside. Dalton allegedly told police the robber got away with $2,800 in cash.

As it so happened, the surveillance video in the store was malfunctioning that night and Dalton could not tell police how the robber entered the fast food restaurant.

Police felt like Dalton had cooked up the story and they brought her back in for questioning, Chitwood said. She admitted to setting up the robbery with her nephew, who she said is from North Carolina, according to police. Chitwood said authorities are still searching for that man.

The 18-year-old employee who was inside the store with Dalton at the time was not a part of the setup, police said.

Dalton was charged on Friday with theft and related offenses. She remains in the Delaware County Prison on $100,000 bail.

"She went from manager to defendant in a couple of days," Chitwood said. "She should have stuck to cooking chicken."