Recent videos filmed, produced and edited by Jo Ciavaglia
Tractor trailer accident
Newtown woman killed in accident
Saturday, October 25, 2014
DA investigating if more suspects were bailed out with phony bonds
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is looking into the number of criminal suspects who might have been freed with surety bonds obtained through a Berks County business where at least two agents are suspected of passing counterfeit bonds.
At least one Bensalem drug defendant was set free after a phony bond was posted, and a second Bensalem drug suspect was nearly freed, authorities said. The bonds were obtained through licensed bail agents working for Ace Bail Bonds in Reading, whose offices were raided Monday as part of a Berks County investigation into the counterfeiting allegations.
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| Dean Gurney |
The Berks County probe was launched after the Oct. 3 arrest of a Berks County man — working for Ace Bail Bonds — who allegedly attempted to post a phony $500,000 surety bond that day for an incarcerated suspected drug dealer at District Judge Joseph Falcone’s court in Bensalem.
A surety bond is essentially an insurance policy that assures a criminal defendant will appear for court as ordered. If the defendant fails to appear, the county would seek to collect on the entire bail amount from the insurance company.
One of the Ace Bail employees hasn’t been criminally charged yet. But Dean Gurney, 47, was charged and is awaiting a preliminary hearing set for next month for allegedly attempting to post an expired bail bond. Falcone’s court staff caught the suspicious bond and notified police, who confirmed it had expired, according to court documents.
Gurney faces charges of forgery, securing execution of documents by deceptions and related offenses. He is incarcerated in Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $250,000 bail.
A week before Gurney’s attempt to pass the expired bond, the other licensed agent for Ace Bail Bonds successfully posted a phony $500,000 bond in Falcone’s court for a Florida man suspected of drug dealing.
An arrest warrant has been issued for that defendant, Harold Boigues Soto, 35, of Tampa, Florida.
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| Harold Soto |
Soto was released on the bond after being charged with two other men on felony drug delivery and related offenses after allegedly attempting to buy 10 kilograms of cocaine — with a $1 million street value — for $175,000 cash in an undercover sting operation on Sept. 11 in Bensalem.
When he didn’t appear for his preliminary hearing Wednesday, the charges against him were sent to Buck County Court for a trial.
His two accomplices, Rigoberto Nunez, 42, of Griffin, Georgia, and Victor Mujica, 31, of Allentown, waived their right to a preliminary hearing. In return, the DA’s office reduced the main charge to attempted drug delivery and reduced their bail to 10 percent of $50,000 instead of $500,000, but required them to turn in their passports.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching Reading attorney Jay Nigrini, who represents Ace Bail Bonds owner Vincent Smith, for comment Wednesday. Ace Bail Bonds has offices in Pennsylvania, New York and other states.
The investigation into the business could take some time, since, in Bucks County, criminal defendants can post bail at a minimum of 22 different places, including district courts and the county jail, Furber said.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams said that Bucks County officials are assisting in the ongoing investigation.
Adams confirmed that his office is aware of other counterfeit bail bonds posted in Berks, but didn’t know if any more were posted in Bucks County.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
Falls murder suspect still missing; Trenton man charged
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014
One of the brothers in police custody following Sunday’s murder of a Trenton man has been charged in connection with the death, but the suspected murderer continues to elude capture, according to the district attorney’s office.
Eric Sarceno, 24, of Trenton, was arraigned this week on charges of possessing an instrument of crime, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence in the bludgeoning death, Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Robert James said. He’s incarcerated in Bucks County prison in lieu of $1-million cash bail.
Magnor Sarceno, 19, also of Trenton, is being held on a material witness warrant, meaning he was an eyewitness to the events before, during and after the murder, James said. The teen isn’t expected to be charged in the murder, but he’s being detained because he’s an undocumented immigrant who is a high flight risk, James said.
Bucks County detectives have filed an arrest warrant for the missing third suspect, who James declined to identify. That sealed warrant charges the third man with homicide and related offenses, James said.
The Sarceno brothers and the third suspect, along with the victim, are in the country illegally. The brothers and the third suspect are from Guatemala, James said. He didn’t identify the victim’s country. He did say the men know each other and work for the same unidentified landscaping business in Trenton, he added.
The murder suspect is believed to have been dating the brothers’ mother, he added. The U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement office issued detainers for the Sarceno brothers, meaning they will be held for potential action by ICE in addition to the criminal charges.
Authorities have tentatively identified the murder victim, but James said they’re not releasing his name until they determine that it is legitimate.
The brothers, the victim and the suspected murderer — a Trenton man in his late 30s, or early 40s — were believed to have been drinking together in an illegal bar in Trenton Saturday night into Sunday. An argument between the murder suspect and victim turned violent, according to authorities, who said they believe the murder suspect planned to beat the victim, but the fight turned fatal.
The victim was found around 8:30 a.m. on West Post Road near Ohio Avenue on the border between Falls and Morrisville. Police later determined the body was found in Falls.
He was severely beaten and stabbed multiple times in the chest and back with a screwdriver, which police said they found near the scene. An autopsy confirmed the man died of blunt force trauma.
County detectives and police said they believe the men drove to Bucks County in a white van that was found about 100 yards from the victim’s body. The van was registered to one of the Sarceno brothers, according to police, who said they believe the missing murder suspect picked the area because he knew it was isolated.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
Buck Up Bucks County: Advocates need new bus for looming Code Blue season
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014
The first winter she lived in her car was the scariest experience of her life, Kim said.
“I had no one to talk to. I’m in a frozen car. I have all these blankets, and then the snow kept covering my car,” the 59-year-old Bucks County woman said. “At one point, I thought I was going to die because I woke up and the whole car was covered.”
That was eight winters ago — well before Bucks County enacted its Code Blue emergency shelter program in 2009.
Today, Kim is still living in her car, which she parks in a Lower Bucks shopping center parking lot.
But when the temperature drops to dangerous levels, she seeks shelter in one of the four Lower Bucks area churches that host the Code Blue program between Dec. 1 and March 31. Advocates for Homeless & Those in Need, an all-volunteer nonprofit group, runs the Code Blue program for Bucks County.
“They take you off the streets, they take you in a church, they give you a cot, they feed you,” she said. “These people have been a blessing to me since I’ve been out here. They helped me fix a couple cars, too, when I wasn’t working. They’re my best friends.”
AHTN — as the group is called by the people it serves and the volunteers — also provides year-round transportation for the homeless and needy, courtesy of Delilah, a 12-year-old, 13-seat used passenger bus the group bought with donations in 2011.
Delilah shuttles guests to shared dinners up to 26 times a month and monthly rejuvenation station visits, where the homeless can get showers and haircuts. The bus is also used to haul supplies between temporary shelters and to reach out to those in need who aren’t part of AHTN’s regular transportation runs.
Delilah’s age and condition, plus the work she does, is why the Advocates group was chosen by the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer as one of two local nonprofits that will benefit from the second round of the Bucks up Bucks County campaign, which seeks to raise $200,000. The first $60,000 will be used for a handicapped-accessible bus. The rest is earmarked to renovate the bathrooms at the Family Service Association’s Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter in Bristol Township.
A recent weekend meal held at the Calvary Baptist Church of Bristol attracted 51 people, but only 17 needed Delilah’s help to get there. That required two round trips. When the host churches are farther away, the bus typically makes only one trip with 13 guests.
But without hesitation, volunteers say Delilah’s most critical work is during the winter. Bucks County called 71 Code Blue nights last year, up from 53 the year before, AHTN’s director, Sandy Mullican, said. A Code Blue is called when the temperatures are expected to drop below 20 degrees.
Last year, most of the 15,000 miles the bus logged were for transporting homeless guests during that particularly brutal winter. A typical December can bring more than two dozen people to the temporary church shelters, and as many as 50 to every Code Blue night, Mullican said.
During Code Blue, the bus routinely makes two and three trips to the designated bus stops that cover the roughly 20-mile radius around Bristol Township that is ATHN’s service area. That means a single round trip can add 40 miles or more to the odometer.
Last year, 143 guests spent at least one night at a Code Blue temporary shelter, Mullican said. She knows because that is the number of personal bedding bags the group created.
On their first night at a Code Blue shelter, guests are issued personalized plastic bags containing the disposable sheets, blankets and pillows that cover the cots, Mullican said. The next morning, before Delilah brings them back to the bus stops, the bedding is returned to the bag, which is stored until the guest returns. Fresh disposable linens are issued after about a month of use.
Since the county implemented Code Blue in 2009, ATHN has only been unable to open a shelter two or three nights because of a lack of volunteers, Mullican said, noting that Delilah has delivered every single time — despite her age and mileage.
During two of the biggest snowstorms last year, volunteer Doug Moyer worked as a bus attendant, accompanying the bus drivers who picked up homeless guests. The front heater/defroster on the bus wasn’t enough to keep the windshield warm and ice-free, so the wipers stopped working.
At every stop, Moyer — who’ll be a co-director of Code Blue this year — acted as a human windshield wiper, using a broom to keep the windshield clear during the three stops to take guests to the shelter in a Lower Makefield church.
“It’s harrowing, in the mist of the storm, picking people up,” Moyer said.
It’s a tight fit, too, he said, because the guests often wear heavy layers of clothing that are soaking wet from waiting in the rain and snow to be picked up and carrying belongings they’re afraid to leave behind.
Because the entire heating system of the bus is so iffy, riders seek out the back seat on the left side, where the heater is located, Moyer said.
With a second bus, Moyer and Mullican believe they can expand their mission of mercy into areas they simply can’t reach now, including Bensalem and Middletown. And having a bus that, unlike Delilah, is handicapped-accessible would allow AHTN to help what they said is a growing number of homeless and needy people who use wheelchairs.
“Our bus is used for so many things. In many ways, she is ATHN’s single biggest asset,” Moyer said. “Delilah gets loaded up from floor to ceiling with our cots, our supplies, everything we can fit on her. We rely on Delilah for everything we do.”
Bucks health officials to monitor 3 travelers from Ebola-stricken countries
Posted: Wednesday, October 22, 2014
The Bucks County Health Department has begun new, closer monitoring of individuals entering the United States from countries where the frequently fatal Ebola virus is rampant, under new enhanced CDC screening protocols.
On Wednesday, Bucks County health officials were notified that three individuals told state health officials that they’ll be staying in the county for the next 21 days, the incubation period for the virus, the health department director, Dr. David Damsker, said. The location of the individuals was not released.
The health department received the visitors’ names, phone numbers and addresses where they’ll be staying, Damsker said. The individuals arrived in the United States within the last few days, he said.
County health workers will keep track of the daily body temperatures of the individuals and their overall health, Damsker said. If the county is unable to make contact with someone, it will follow up with the state.
“It’s a proactive step. At least we’ll know who they are and where they are going to be,” Damsker added. “Next to a travel ban knowing who these people are and where they are is the next best thing.”
Pennsylvania is one of six states that will monitor travelers whose flights originated in Sierra Leone, Liberia or New Guinea. The others are New York, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Georgia, which together account for 70 percent of people arriving from those West African countries, state health officials said.
Pennsylvania airports have no direct flights to the three African countries, but it’s close to New York, New Jersey and the Washington, D.C., airports, where all flights from Ebola-affected nations are now diverted; O’Hare International in Chicago is also on that flight diversion list.
At those five airports, travelers who list Pennsylvania as a final destination will have their information forwarded to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. State health officials will use travel records to determine which passengers should be monitored, according to a health department spokeswoman.
Travelers will be given information cards and a thermometer to measure their body temperatures twice a day for the virus’ incubation period under the monitoring protocol, the CDC said.
State and local health departments will determine how people in the monitoring program report their results daily, but there are plans to implement a 24-hour hotline and maintain daily communication with travelers.
Low-risk travelers will be required to report their temperature twice per day to the state health department and higher risk individuals who may have had prolonged contact with individuals infected with Ebola will be quarantined by the state. Anyone with a fever or other Ebola symptoms upon arrival will be immediately isolated.
About 150 people each day come into the United States from West African countries with Ebola outbreaks; most are American citizens or people with long-term U.S. residence.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
Falls murder suspect still missing; Trenton man charged
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2014
One of the brothers in police custody following Sunday’s murder of a Trenton man has been charged in connection with the death, but the suspected murderer continues to elude capture, according to the district attorney’s office.
Eric Sarceno, 24, of Trenton, was arraigned this week on charges of possessing an instrument of crime, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence in the bludgeoning death, Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Robert James said. He’s incarcerated in Bucks County prison in lieu of $1-million cash bail.
Magnor Sarceno, 19, also of Trenton, is being held on a material witness warrant, meaning he was an eyewitness to the events before, during and after the murder, James said. The teen isn’t expected to be charged in the murder, but he’s being detained because he’s an undocumented immigrant who is a high flight risk, James said.
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| Murder scene on West Post Road |
Bucks County detectives have filed an arrest warrant for the missing third suspect, who James declined to identify. That sealed warrant charges the third man with homicide and related offenses, James said.
The Sarceno brothers and the third suspect, along with the victim, are in the country illegally. The brothers and the third suspect are from Guatemala, James said. He didn’t identify the victim’s country. He did say the men know each other and work for the same unidentified landscaping business in Trenton, he added.
The murder suspect is believed to have been dating the brothers’ mother, he added. The U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement office issued detainers for the Sarceno brothers, meaning they will be held for potential action by ICE in addition to the criminal charges.
Authorities have tentatively identified the murder victim, but James said they’re not releasing his name until they determine that it is legitimate.
The brothers, the victim and the suspected murderer — a Trenton man in his late 30s, or early 40s — were believed to have been drinking together in an illegal bar in Trenton Saturday night into Sunday. An argument between the murder suspect and victim turned violent, according to authorities, who said they believe the murder suspect planned to beat the victim, but the fight turned fatal.
The victim was found around 8:30 a.m. on West Post Road near Ohio Avenue on the border between Falls and Morrisville. Police later determined the body was found in Falls.
He was severely beaten and stabbed multiple times in the chest and back with a screwdriver, which police said they found near the scene. An autopsy confirmed the man died of blunt force trauma.
County detectives and police said they believe the men drove to Bucks County in a white van that was found about 100 yards from the victim’s body. The van was registered to one of the Sarceno brothers, according to police, who said they believe the missing murder suspect picked the area because he knew it was isolated.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
Police in Bucks say man's death came after argument, drinking
Posted: Tuesday, October 21, 2014
An argument between two co-workers fueled by a night of drinking in an illegal bar is believed to be what led to the bludgeoning death of a Trenton man Sunday morning, police said Tuesday.
Bucks County detectives, who are heading the investigation, have identified the man found beaten and stabbed Sunday morning on West Post Road, but his identity has not yet been released, Morrisville police Chief George McClay said Tuesday.
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| Murder scene on West Post Road |
County detectives and local police said they are still looking for a third man — also an undocumented immigrant — who is likely hiding in Trenton. Two other men — brothers who are illegal immigrants from Honduras and Guatemala — remain incarcerated in Bucks County prison held on detainers from Immigration Customs Enforcement. They have not been charged in connection with the death as of Tuesday night, and their identities have not been released.
The victim was found around 8:30 a.m. on West Post Road on the border between Falls and Morrisville. Police later determined the body was found in Falls. He was severely beaten and stabbed multiple times in the chest with a screwdriver, which police said they found near the scene.
The autopsy confirmed the man died of blunt force trauma, McClay said Tuesday. The newspaper has been unsuccessful in reaching Bucks County Coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell for comment since Sunday.
The argument between the murder victim and the missing man started in a Trenton speakeasy where the four were drinking Saturday night into early Sunday morning, McClay said. The four men got into a white van and drove into Morrisville, he said. Three of the men live in Trenton and one lives in Maryland, he said.
Police believe the van driver was one of the brothers in custody because the van is registered to him in Maryland. The third man is believed to have picked the West Post Road area because he and the dead man had worked in the area and he knew it was isolated, McClay said.
The third man appears to have planned to beat up the victim, but the beating turned fatal, McClay said. It’s unclear at this point what role the two other men played in the attack.
The brothers were taken into custody Sunday. One was found in the van, parked about 100 yards away from the murder scene near Ohio Avenue, and the other man was found nearby.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
Lower Southampton cops: Thief busted 3 times in 25 days
Posted: Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Kevin Courtney Jr. hasn’t learned his lesson, according to Lower Southampton police.
In the past month, the 31-year-old Philadelphia man has been arrested three times on theft charges in two townships — twice while out on bail from previous arrests.
Most recently Courtney was arrested in connection with a home burglary Friday in the 1400 block of Brownsville Road in Lower Southampton. The homeowner told police that someone broke into the house that morning and stole a 60-inch Sony Smart TV, an iPod Touch, several PlayStation game stations, a laptop computer and a BB gun.
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| Kevin Courtney Jr. |
Lower Southampton police checked with local pawn shops, and the owner of one said he received a call from Courtney, who was looking to sell a 60-inch Sony Smart TV and Sony headphones, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The store owner offered to buy the TV, and Courtney said he’d be at the store around 12:30 p.m. Friday, police said.
Around 12:45 p.m., Detective Shane Hearn saw Courtney park in front of the store, remove a large flat panel TV from his car trunk and take it into the store, court documents show.
Courtney was then taken into custody. The homeowner later identified the TV as the one stolen.
Soon after, Courtney was arraigned before District Judge Joseph Falcone on a charge of receiving stolen property. He was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $50,000 bail.
The burglary was the second Courtney allegedly pulled in Lower Southampton.
He was arrested on Sept. 30, after being stopped for not using turn signals on Old Street Road, for allegedly breaking into a home in the 600 block of Avenue C and stealing $140 and jewelry.
The car he was driving matched a description provided by the homeowner who found Courtney in her yard when she returned home, police said. Courtney had told the woman he was at her home looking to buy a computer, court documents show. The homeowner positively identified Courtney as the man in her yard.
Courtney, who is charged with burglary and related offenses in that case, was released from Bucks County prison after his bail was lowered from 10 percent of $25,000 to $15,000. The $1,500 was posted on Oct. 6, according to online court records.
Tullytown police arrested Courtney on charges of retail theft and receiving stolen property on Sept. 22; he was arraigned and released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
On Tuesday, District Judge Robert Wagner also upped Courtney’s bail in the retail theft case to 10 percent of $5,000, according to online court records.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; twitter@jociavaglia
High school hazing: 'It's not an isolated problem'
Posted: Friday, October 24, 2014
Hazing hurts. But it’s not only the alleged victims who experience the shame and humiliation, according to psychologists.
Allegations of hazing activities in school sports or extracurricular programs leave a wide swath of collateral damage, including school staff, students and parents who are not directly involved, according to experts. The ripple effect reaches into the surrounding community where divided allegiances are common.
“It’s not an isolated problem that is just affecting a few students. There are reverberating effects to the family, friends, and school, there are so many layers, and that is only when we find out about an incident,” said Elizabeth Allan, a professor of higher education at the University of Maine and director of StopHazing.org. “It still has an effect even when it’s not big public news.”
Available research suggests that hazing incidents — long associated with college fraternity and sorority culture — are becoming more prevalent and violent in high schools. Researchers at Alfred University in New York suggests that almost half of students who join any group in high school experience some kind of hazing; most often a student reports they were subjected to humiliating activities.
Central Bucks West High School suspended its junior varsity and varsity football programs and suspended the coaching staff amid allegations of player hazing. “Numerous” Central Bucks West players were accused of subjecting younger players to a form of “waterboarding” and at least one rookie player was forced to grab the genitalia of a senior player during preseason training sessions.
The local hazing controversy comes on the heels of one in New Jersey involving the Sayreville War Memorial High School. The school’s state-title winning football team had their season canceled earlier this month shortly before seven members of the team were charged with hazing-related crimes, including aggravated sexual assault. The team’s head coach and four assistants have been suspended with pay.
Hazing allegations typically divide the community beyond the school where they occurred, particularly when a popular sports team is involved, said Allan and psychologists who’ve studied hazing behavior among college and high school students.
“You often hear people in the aftermath say, ‘These are good kids,’ ” Allan said. “It’s hard to make sense.”
New York based psychologist Dr. Susan Lipkins calls the community reaction to hazing allegations a “second hazing.”
Typically community allegiances split with most people supporting the coaches and players — not the accusers and their supporters, who are often criticized and ostracized, said Lipkins, a leading expert in the field of hazing and author of the book “Inside Hazing.” The reactions are magnified in cases where the town has strong community ties with a school team or sports program.
“People feel very, very strongly,” Lipkins said. “They want to maintain the status quo and they’ve have good experiences. The coach created the winning team and the identity. They feel they have an allegiance with the coach. They have relationships with these coaches.”
Often in communities with exceptional sports teams, the public often hold a near reverent regard for the players and coaches that have become part of the town’s identity, creating a deep desire by the public to protect that identity, Lipkins said.
“Everybody diminishes the events,” she added. “Whatever actually happens, we may never really know the full extent. The community, in general, does not want to accept these things actually happen and even to their children.”
Disbelief is a common reaction within communities where hazing involving school programs occur, added F. Clark Power, a professor of psychology and education at the University of Notre Dame who presents workshops on hazing.
“We do want to blame people and we want a quick fix.” Power said. “A lot of parents and children are going to find it hard to believe that their friends, teammates or classmates would do this kind of thing.”
The fact-finding investigation involved with hazing allegations can take a long time and result in a lot of finger-pointing, which stalls the spotlight on the affected school, players and community, leading to further stigmatization, Power said. As a result, the community’s healing process can be bitter and long, he added.
Adding to the confusion, experts said, is often coaches or other adults who are suspended amid hazing allegations but remain in the classroom as teachers, which is the case with the Central Bucks West football coaches, some who are district teachers.
Suspended coaches remaining in the classroom can create an uncomfortable situation for hazing victims or accusers. Also, the continued placement of those teachers in the classroom can send the rest of the student body and staff mixed messages about the school’s stance on hazing, the experts said.
“We know what students have told us in our research is they interpret the school’s sanctions to either condone or not condone hazing,” said Allan, the University of Maine professor. “It’s hard for them to see the nuances that may be going on behind the scenes with contracts. In the absence of a strong statement of leadership from the school they create their own story line.”
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
Monday, October 20, 2014
Bensalem man accused in cop stabbing now charged in 2013 murder
Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2014
A Bensalem man accused of stabbing a police officer earlier this year has been charged in the murder and robbery of a 30-year-old Bristol Township man in Philadelphia.
Matthew Miller, 24, of the 400 block of Wicker Avenue, was arraigned Wednesday in Philadelphia on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, robbery and possessing an instrument of crime in last year’s beating death of Joseph Britton. He was denied bail.
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| Matthew Miller |
Britton was found unresponsive and bleeding from the head in the driver’s seat of a borrowed Hyundai in the 5900 block of Charles Street on Sept. 14, 2013. An autopsy later found Britton died of blunt force trauma as a result of blows to his head, police said.
Britton, a recovering drug abuser, did not have any drugs or money on him when he was found and police said his wallet was still in his pocket.
Following his arraignment, Miller was returned to Bucks County prison, where he is awaiting trial on attempted homicide, escape and related charges stemming from the June 10 stabbing of Bensalem police Officer Michael Jachimski.
Miller, who also goes by the surname Cordero, is the third person charged in Britton’s murder. In April, Britton’s ex-girlfriend Krista McDevitt, 24, and Ian Pawlowic, 21, of Philadelphia, were charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy, robbery and related offenses. In September, both pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing next month.
McDevitt pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, conspiracy and robbery, and charges of theft and possession of a weapon were dropped, according to court records. Pawlowic also pleaded guilty to robbery and conspiracy to robbery; the DA dropped charges of second-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime, according to online court records.
At the time of her arrest, McDevitt had been serving a six- to 24-month sentence in state prison after pleading guilty in Bucks County Court to an access device crime in February. That crime took place in Middletown a few weeks before Britton’s murder, according to online court records.
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| Joseph Britton |
Members of the Britton family, many of whom live in Croydon, said the last time they saw Joseph was following a church service in Trenton the night before his death. His family said Britton was beaten with a baseball bat and found in his roommate’s car in the Wissinoming section of the city.
On Wednesday, Donna Britton Palmer said that her son did not know Miller, who was McDevitt’s new boyfriend. She added that McDevitt had met Pawlowic a few months earlier.
Miller’s name surfaced as a suspect early in the murder investigation, Britton Palmer said, but she doesn’t know why he was not arrested with McDevitt and Pawlowic in April. She added that police have told her the other two suspects say Miller is the one who killed Britton.
His family said that Britton was mechanically inclined and had been fixing lawn mowers and selling scrap metal to support himself. He also had an uncanny knack for winning money from lottery scratch-off tickets, family members said.
Britton Palmer said Philadelphia police notified her on Oct. 10, her son’s birthday, that Miller was going to be charged in his murder.
With Miller’s arrest, she said she can begin the emotional healing process.
“Getting closer to closure,” she said, adding, that there’s “a lot of relief that he is not going to get away with it.”
Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler on Wednesday said that the Philadelphia murder charge will not interfere with his office’s prosecution of Miller for attempted homicide, escape and related charges.
Miller is accused of stabbing Jachimski, the Bensalem officer who was attempting to take him into custody on an arrest warrant after he allegedly walked away without permission from the Doylestown minimum security Community Corrections center on June 6.
During the scuffle, Miller pulled out a black folding knife and lunged at the officer several times before striking the officer’s protective vest, police said. The knife hit the vest about 1½-inches above its bottom edge, but the officer was not injured, authorities said.
In 2010, Miller — who has a long criminal history — also went AWOL from Bucks County’s prison work release program, according to court records.
Miller has been incarcerated in Bucks County prison since June in lieu of two separate bails in his Bucks County cases: $5 million cash in connection with the stabbing and 10 percent of $1 million for the escape.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
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| Krista McDevitt |
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| Ian Pawlowic |
Morrisville man, 71, arrested twice in the same day for assault
Posted: Monday, October 20, 2014
A 71-year-old Morrisville man is accused of nearly running a motorcyclist off the road hours after allegedly assaulting a Salvation Army employee with a TV set.
Falls police say they first had contact with Edward Polski Jr. around noon Saturday after he was turned away while attempting to donate two large TV sets to the Salvation Army store on Lincoln Highway.
After being told by an employee that the store no longer accepts the type of TVs he had, Polski became enraged and starting yelling and cursing, police said.
“If you don’t want them, you can throw them away,” he allegedly told the employee before grabbing the TVs out of the back of his white 1994 Ford Explorer and throwing them on the ground. One of them hit an employee in the leg, according to a probable cause affidavit. It’s unknown if the employee required medical treatment. Polski then closed the SUV’s hatch and sped out of the parking lot, police said.
He was eventually arrested and charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct, scattering rubbish and careless driving, processed and released, according to police.
About five hours later, Falls police responded to a report of a motorcyclist who said he was run off the road by a white SUV.
The motorcyclist told police he was traveling north on West Lincoln Highway when he crossed onto West Trenton Avenue at the same time the SUV pulled out of The Extra Space Storage parking lot and into the right lane of the roadway. Police said that Polski rents a storage unit at the business the 900 block of Lincoln Highway
The motorcycle had to swerve into the left lane to avoid an accident, police said. The motorcyclist claimed the SUV followed him at a “very close” distance until they came to a red light at Alden Avenue and stopped.
The SUV driver — later identified as Polski — then drove to the left of the motorcycle, to the point the driver had to jump off to avoid having his left leg crushed, police said. The motorcycle then fell on its right side and was damaged, police said.
Police said they checked the license plate numbers of the SUV given by the motorcyclist and another witness and found out it was Polski’s vehicle. The motorcycle driver was shown a photo of Polski and stated he was “95 percent” positive that he was the SUV driver who hit his motorcycle, police said.
Polski was arraigned Saturday before District Judge William Benz on aggravated assault, accidents involving damage to an attended vehicle or property and reckless driving stemming from the motorcycle incident. He is free after posting 10 percent of his $10,000 bail.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
Bristol Twp. man headed to trial in brother-in-law's death
Posted: Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Rivera told Slaughter that during the party he resurrected an incident last Christmas when Rivera alleged that Rodriguez grabbed or mistreated his girlfriend. Rivera also talked about an incident with Rodriguez that happened in 1974, Slaughter said.
George Rodriguez reportedly told his brother-in-law William Rivera that he no longer considered him a brother, calling him a piece of excrement, during a family party held Labor Day weekend.
In response, Rivera, 63, retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun that he kept for protection, loaded it with two rounds, and fatally shot the unarmed 59-year-old Rodriguez twice as he sat on the living room couch, a Bristol Township detective said.
“It appeared to go from zero to 60 fast,” Detective Michael Slaughter said.
When Rodriguez was killed, his 7-year-old son and girlfriend were in the room, police testified at Rivera’s preliminary hearing on charges of criminal homicide, possession of an instrument of a crime and reckless endangerment in the death of Rodriguez, his wife’s brother.
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| William Rivera as he was led out of court |
The boy was so close to the shooting that police confiscated his “Toy Story” T-shirt as evidence because it was stained with blood and body tissue, Slaughter testified.
Patrolman Kenneth Margerum testified Tuesday that when he responded to the home in the 4400 block of Fayette Drive about 3:30 a.m. Aug. 31, he found a hysterical woman outside. She told officers that the man with the gun was inside in a back bedroom, Margerum said. The family party was breaking up and six people, including the boy, were still in the house at the time, police said.
When he entered the home, Margerum found Rodriguez, of Trenton, on the living room floor with a pool of blood around his waist. An autopsy later confirmed he had been shot twice with a 12-gauge Remington shotgun in the chest and groin area.
Margerum testified he found Rivera in a back bedroom sitting on a bed crying while an unidentified woman next to him rubbed his back. He was taken into custody and transported to police headquarters.
Slaughter told the court that when he spoke with Rivera at police headquarters, he appeared to be shaking and sobbing, but not crying. He also said Rivera showed no signs of intoxication and didn’t smell of alcohol.
Rivera told Slaughter that during the party he resurrected an incident last Christmas when Rivera alleged that Rodriguez grabbed or mistreated his girlfriend. Rivera also talked about an incident with Rodriguez that happened in 1974, Slaughter said.
Investigators found two spent shell casings and a live round on the living room floor, he added. The suspected murder weapon was found under a bed in another bedroom of the home, police said.
Slaughter said there was no sign of a struggle in the living room.
Rodriguez’s girlfriend told police she was asleep when she heard the gunshots and did not see Rodriguez or Rivera. After the shooting, she grabbed the boy and ran to another part of the home, Slaughter said he was told.
Following testimony, District Judge Joanne Kline held Rivera for trial on all charges. He remains in Bucks County prison without bail.
Rivera, who appeared in court clean shaven with his formerly long gray hair cut in a close crop, said nothing as he was led out of his hearing.
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