Homicide investigators had the grim task today of investigating the death of a 10-year-old girl from Feltonville.
The girl, identified as Charlenni Ferreira, was found unconscious on a bathroom floor by her stepmother about 10:30 a.m., said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
Ferreira was taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where she died a short while later.
Vanore said the cause and manner of the girl’s death had not yet been determined.
A medical examiner did, however, tell investigators that the girl had suffered trauma and bore evidence of pre-exisiting injuries, a police source said.
The girl lived with her father, step-mother and two step-brothers inside a house on C Street near Wyoming Avenue, the source said.
Her family, including her father, mother and step-mother, were all questioned by homicide detectives at Police Headquarters yesterday. No charges have been filed against the girl's relatives.
Alicia Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, declined to verify if DHS had any prior dealings with Ferreira or her family.
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A veteran Philadelphia police officer was charged earlier today with allegedly trying to get a female prisoner to perform oral sex on him, police officials said.

Early this morning, another cop spotted Officer Malaika T. Mebane, 38, standing in a jail cell with a female prisoner inside the 35th District's headquarters, at Broad and Champlost streets, authorities said. The officer reported the situation to a supervisor, who later contacted Internal Affairs investigators.

The cell was held as a possible crime scene. Police said the prisoner later told investigators that Mebane, a 17-year veteran, had asked her to perform oral sex on him. Mebane was charged with attempted sexual assault and related offenses. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey suspended Mebane for 30 days with the intent to dismiss.

For about two hours tonight, it seemed like all hell had broken loose in the city.
During that short time span, police were called to the scenes of two separate murder-suicides and a pair of unrelated shootings that left two men fighting for their lives.
The spurt of violence started shortly after 7 p.m., when a 60-year-old Ukranian woman fatally shot her 90-year-old mother and then turned the gun on herself in East Mount Airy, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The murder-suicide occurred inside the victims’ home, on Gowen Avenue near Stenton. Both victims, whose names weren’t released, died at the scene.
Several neighbors who were out walking their dogs stopped when they saw yellow crime scene tape stretched around the handsome single home.
Small said the elderly woman’s husband had recently died, but it was unclear if that played any role in the murder-suicide.
About 8:30 p.m., an 18-year-old man was shot in the head on Duval Street near Germantown Avenue in East Germantown, Small said.
The victim, whose name wasn’t released, was admitted to Albert Einstein Medical Center in “extremely critical condition,” Small said.
Police arrested the shooter a few blocks from the scene, with the help of witnesses who identified him, he said. It was unclear, however, what motivated the shooting.
About fifteen minutes later, a man in his early 40s riddled his estranged wife with bullets and then fatally shot himself inside their home on Maple Avenue near Trevose in Somerton, Small said. Neither victim was identified by police.
“The wife had recently gotten a protection from abuse order, but that didn’t stop him from calling her or showing up,” Small said.
The man and his estranged wife were both pronounced dead inside at the scene, he added.
Finally, about 9 p.m., a robber shot and critically wounded a 52-year-old man inside a pizza shop on Cottman Avenue near Castor.
“He robbed the cashier and four patrons, and then for some reason, shot one patron in the chest,” Small said.
The victim was listed in critical condition at Aria Health-Torresdale.
Police arrested the gunman a short while later, with the help of the patrons, who all positively identified him, Small said.

A man was shot and critically wounded in Olney earlier tonight, police said.

The victim, whose name wasn't released, was wounded in the back about 7:45 p.m., following an argument that unfolded in a parking lot near the Banana Lounge, on Rising Sun Avenue near Clarkson Avenue, an investigator said. The victim was admitted to Albert Einstein Medical Center in critical condition.

The gunman fled in a white car, possibly a newer Lexus or Toyota, with chrome rims, the investigator said. Tipsters can contact Northwest Detectives at 215-686-3353.

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.”