Teen runs from cops, gets stuck up on the roof

I wonder when this teen's "oh crap" moment came. You know, that moment when you realize you've been caught and there's nothing you can do about it.

Was it when the cops pulled him over and he decided to run? Was it when he realized he was stuck on a roof, surrounded by police officers? Or was it when the fire department came and he had to climb down a ladder into the outstretched arms of authorities?

This tale of teenage stupidity begins around 1:30 p.m. yesterday, when a 16-year-old was pulled over at 63rd Street near Hazel Avenue in West Philadelphia for a motor vehicle violation, according to police.

The teen, whose name has not been released, stopped the car but took off running on foot as soon as an officer tried to approach. He ran and he ran. He ran through Cobbs Creek Park. He ran in to Cobbs Creek. He even ran in to Upper Darby. He was running on for a long time.

Eventually, he ran to Powell Road near Walnut Street in Upper Darby. It was there, he saw a nice couple sitting on the front porch of their home enjoying a beautiful day when he decided to push right past them and run in their house, like he was starring in "Point Break" or something.

He then ran up to the second floor of the home, climbed out a front window and went up on the roof of the house, said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

"He went on the roof to escape but there's a 12-foot-wide breezeway there in between houses and he became trapped on the roof," Chitwood said. "He ran himself in to capture."

With the house surrounded, police called the fire department to the scene. A ladder was placed on the roof and the teen was told to climb down it, all while being "monitored" very intensely at gunpoint from cops on an adjacent roof and on the ground, police said.

The boy was taken in to custody and charged with burglary, assault and related offenses. He remains at the Delaware County juvenile detention center in Lima, according to police, who said he had crack cocaine on him when he was apprehended.

Chitwood said things could have gone even worse for the boy yesterday.

"He's a very, very lucky individual because the house that he broke into, the occupants are avid hunters and they had a number of firearms in the house," Chitwood said. "Had they been in the house and he got in, he would have had hell to pay."