A man was fatally shot in West Oak Lane earlier tonight. Police said the victim, who is believed to be about 40, was wounded numerous times in the torso on Ogontz Avenue near 77th at 6:07 p.m. He died at the Albert Einstein Medical Center at 7:25 p.m. Investigators had no suspects or motives.

As of yesterday, the city's murder count stood at 230, compared to 251 at this point a year ago and 312 in 2007.

It all started with a simple arrest.

Narcotics cops stopped Deborah Flemming, 53, in Port Richmond on Sunday, only to find that she was carrying some crystal methamphetamine, police said. She was arrested, and investigators quickly turned their attention to the place where she had allegedly just purchased the crystal meth: A rowhouse on Salmon Street near Clearfield.

Cops served a search warrant on the property about 6:20 p.m., and found about $17,000 worth of crystal meth, as well as a small amount of marijuana, said Narcotics Capt. Debra Frazier. During a search of a shed behind the house, police found nine pistols and 17 shotguns and rifles, including one rifle that was "homemade," Frazier said.

Police arrested John Connell, 39, who lived in the rowhouse, and Fern Goldberg, 50, police said.

"All of those weapons have no other purpose than to kill, maim or destroy," Frazier said. "This started out as a simple narcotics job and grew into something bigger."

A female bicyclist was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident in Center City earlier tonight. The victim, whose age wasn't available, was struck by a pick-up truck at 22nd and Market streets about 7:20 p.m., police said. She was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in critical condition, although the extent of her injuries was unclear.

Police arrested the motorist a short while later near 22nd Street and Ben Franklin Parkway, said an investigator from the police Accident Investigation Division. The driver, who wasn't identified, might have been drunk, the investigator said.

Update: An investigator said part of the accident was witnessed by a SEPTA police officer, who followed the fleeing driver with another witness. The driver is "an elderly man, who pulled over because he realized he was being followed," the investigator said.

Earlier today, police officals released a composite sketch of a man who posed as a cop and tried to attack a woman in Pennypack Park earlier this week.
The 25-year-old victim told police she was walking with her infant daughter on Algon Avenue near Tustin about 4:40 p.m. Thursday when she was approached by a husky white man in a gray t-shirt and dark pants.
The man asked “if she had seen his dog,” then claimed to be a cop and tried to drag the woman into the woods, police said.
Police said the woman and her baby managed to escape unharmed, but not before the man stole her cell phone. He fled on foot.
The woman described the imposter as about 5-feet-11, more than 200 pounds, and about 30- to 40-years-old with a blonde buzzcut. Tipsters can contact police at 215-685-3253 or -3254.
 

A Southwest Philadelphia man who apparently planned to run for office against U.S. Rep. Bob Brady was found alive in Maryland yesterday, a day after police thought that he had been abducted.
Got it?
Didn’t think so. The perplexing tale goes something like this:
On Tuesday, Eastwick resident Bismark Agbemble, 29, told his girlfriend, his father and a friend that he had been threatened on the street — he didn’t say where — by two men, police sources said.
Agbemble, a motivational speaker who refers to himself as “Mr. CEO,” was apparently so unnerved by the threats that he stayed at a relative’s house in Yeadon that night.
The following day, his family became worried when he didn’t show up to teach his regular class at ITT Technical Institute in King of Prussia, sources said.
When a relative went to his Eastwick home, the garage door was open, furniture was overturned inside and threatening graffiti was sprayed on the walls, the sources said.
The relative called police, who began trying to piece together the mystifying case.
“There was some concern, because of these threats he had described to others,” said Capt. Benjamin Naish, of Southwest Detectives.
Agbemble’s cell phone had been turned off, and the message had been changed to one “that suggested he was being held against his will,” Naish said.
But with no ransom note, and no contact from any abductors, police and FBI agents who joined the investigation couldn’t make out the situation.
Then, yesterday, they caught a break. Agbemble’s cell phone was apparently turned on and traced to Glen Burnie, Md., Naish said.
Glen Burnie police found Agbemble in a blue Jaguar outside a hotel he apparently had checked into. He appeared to be unharmed.
Investigators interviewed Agbemble and were convinced the “whole thing had been made up, that the threats were not real,” Naish said.
Sources said investigators believe Agbemble may have been plagued recently by mental-health problems.
Agbemble has two Web sites — www.bismark2010.com, and www.partners4change.com.
The former appears to be set up for campaign donations, while the latter features a photo of Agbemble and describes an advocacy group he was a part of. The site also features a quote from Agbemble that sounds like a campaign theme: “We’re united by our shared vision to improve the lives of all individuals.”

A female University of Pennsylvania student is among three women who were raped in the city in the past several days, police said today.

The 20-something victim told police she was attacked about 2 a.m. Saturday while she was at a party inside a fraternity house on the 3500 block of Locust Walk, the university’s main pedestrian thoroughfare, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.

A source identified the fraternity house as that of Phi Kappa Sigma.

According to Vanore, Philadelphia police became involved after the victim sought treatment at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania later on Saturday.

Investigators from the police Special Victims Unit have interviewed a number of people who attended the party in an attempt to build an accurate description of the assailant, Vanore said.

In a statement addressing the incident, university officials wrote in part: “The university takes this matter very seriously and is cooperating fully with the Philadelphia police investigation.

“The university is offering support services to our student. Police have indicated that the situation poses no obvious danger to other members of the university community.”

Several hours before the Penn student was attacked, a teenager was raped inside her East Mt. Airy home, police said.

The 15-year-old victim was home alone about 11:30 p.m. Friday when she heard a noise on the first floor of her house on Blakemore Street near Montana, said Lt. Tom McDevitt, of the Special Victims Unit.

When the girl ventured downstairs to investigate the noise, a man who entered through the front door reached out, grabbed her and forced her to a sofa where he raped her, McDevitt said.

The living room was dark, so the victim was unable to focus on the features of her attacker, McDevitt said.

About 12:30 a.m. Friday, a 21-year-old woman was confronted by three men on Duval Street near Chew Avenue, in East Germantown, after she left a friend’s house.

The woman tried to ignore the men, McDevitt said, but they forced her into a nearby alley at knifepoint. Two of the thugs then raped her.

The victim told police one attacker was a thin, 5-foot-7 black man in his late 20s with braids and a beard. He wore black pants, a white T-shirt and Timberland boots.

Police said the second man was a light-complected, 5-foot-8 black man in his 20s. He had a beard, mustache and sideburns, and wore cargo pants and Timberland boots.

The third assailant was a light-complected black man in his mid-20s, who had a beard, mustache, braids and a black and white Dickies shirt.

Tipsters can contact SVU at 215-685-3251.

Gulp!

Customs and Border Protection earlier today announced the arrests of two hashish smugglers at Philadelphia International Airport in separate incidents this month.

Officials referred to the smugglers as "swallowers" because they had ingested a combined 1.5 pounds of hashish which had been stored in tiny plastic pellets. The pellets are typically made from latex gloves and condoms.

The first of the swallowing smugglers, Sanchez Smith, 20, was arrested after he arrived at Philly International on Sept. 18 on a flight from Jamaica. He intended to catch another flight to Bermuda, said Steve Sapp, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

Smith admitted to Customs officials at the airport that he was a smuggler, Sapp said. Smith spent about a week in a local hospital, where he eventually passed 74 pellets that contained 469.8 grams of hashish, worth about $13,000. Smith was released from the hospital on Saturday and turned over to Pennsylvania State Police, Sapp said.

On Friday, Customs officials arrested another smuggler, Shakai Darrell, 25, at Philly International, Sapp said. Smith had also traveled from Jamaica with the intention of catching a flight to Bermuda. He was released to Philadelphia police on Monday, after he had passed 38 pellets of hash at a local hospital, Sapp said. The pellets weighed 300 grams and were worth about $8,500.

Sapp said investigators believed Smith and Darrell were a part of the same drug smuggling ring.

"It's very difficult to detect [swallowers]," Sapp said. "It's extremely dangerous work. If one of those pellets are breached inside their body, it can end up killing them."

A woman in her 20s was hit by a car and critically injured in Parkside shortly after 4:30 p.m. today, police said. The victim, whose name was not released, was struck near 51st Street and Parkside Avenue.

She was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in critical condition, said Sgt. Larry Ritchie of the police Accident Investigation Division. Ritchie said it was unclear how the accident occurred. The driver of the striking vehicle stayed at the scene, he noted.

Police earlier today released surveillance images of two armed robbers who held up Paulino’s Grocery Store, on Wyoming Avenue near A Street, on Sept. 2. The owner of the store and three customers were all robbed. One customer was treated for a head injury after being struck in the head with a bottle by one of the thieves. Both crooks fled on foot. Tipsters who recognize these two thugs can contact East Detectives at 215-686-3243.