Meant to post this up earlier this morning. In today's Daily News, I detailed Police Commissioner Chuck Ramsey's plan to merge the 22nd and 23rd Districts in North Philadelphia by Jan. 3, 2010. Here's the skinny:

For much of Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey's two-year tenure, there have been rumblings about his desire to cut the number of police districts, or at least redraw their boundaries.

Turns out those rumors had more than a shred of truth to them. Come Jan. 3, the 22nd and 23rd districts in North Philadelphia will merge, Ramsey told the Daily News in a recent interview.

The districts, which share the same headquarters at 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue, are among a handful that police brass have considered combining.

Lest longtime residents take to the streets in panic, Ramsey noted that the merger will not lead to a reduction in the number of cops who patrol the neighborhoods in the districts, which include Strawberry Mansion, North Philly and Brewerytown.

"As far as the community goes, the police station's still there, and the officers from both districts will still be there," he said.

"They're both relatively small districts. We're merging them primarily because we don't have enough resources to staff 23 police districts."

The merger is not occurring because of, and will not lead to, any financial savings, according to Ramsey.

According to police statistics, the 22nd District, has about 200 police officers; the 23rd has about 150.

A handful of lieutenants, sergeants and administrative staff will be transferred to other districts, as will 23rd District Capt. Joe Bartorilla. Branville Bard, captain of the 22nd, will be in charge of the combined district, Ramsey said.

The "new" district, which will be known as the 22nd, will have boundaries that stretch from Poplar Street to Lehigh Avenue, and from 10th Street to 33rd.

For more information on the merger, click here to read the rest.

Maki Thomas, accused of a fatal shooting in 2001, has eluded authorities for eight years but inadvertently dimed himself out earlier today.
Thomas, 24, apparently used his given name when he visited a medical center in Haverford to have an old injury treated, said Special Agent J.J. Klaver, an FBI spokesman.
Staffers at the center became suspicious and called local law enforcement, who ran his name through a database.
Within moments, they realized Thomas was wanted for allegedly gunning down Quentin Armstrong at 52nd Street and Washington Avenue in West Philadelphia on March 29, 2001, Klaver said.
The fatal shooting had apparently been retaliation for a previous gang-related shooting that involved one of Thomas’ relatives, Klaver added.
Members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force, which includes Philadelphia police, raced to Haverford, only to find that Thomas had already given them the slip.
Several media reports claimed investigators had engaged in a high-speed chase with Thomas, but “there was no chase,” Klaver added.
“It is believed that the car he was seen in at the clinic, or at least a car matching the description of his, was seen getting onto the Blue Route,” he said, “but the car was never located there.”
Instead, a dark-colored vehicle that investigators believe Thomas used to flee was later found abandoned in West Oak Lane, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
Thomas, who is 5-feet-7, 150 pounds, has tattoos on his left forearm. His last known addresses were on 64th Street near Haddington Lane and Cambridge Street near 41st, Klaver said.
He is considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information on Thomas’ whereabouts can contact the FBI at 215-418- 4000, or Philadelphia police at 215-686-TIPS.

Pennsylvania SPCA workers had the unwelcome task today of sifting through the remains of five animals that apparently had been sacrificed, officials said.

A passerby found the beheaded animals -- a dog, cat and three chickens -- near a bike path on Bingham Street near Roosevelt Boulevard in Olney about 1 p.m., said George Bengal, the PSPCA’s director of investigations.

“It appears to be ritualistic sacrifice,” Bengal said.

“It looks like the act was done somewhere else, and the remains were left here in the park.”

PSPCA officials often see a rise in animals being sacrificed at this time of the year, he noted, because it coincides with “a lot of high holidays that different groups celebrate.”

But most sacrifices usually only involve goats and chickens. “This is a little over the top with the dogs and cats,” Bengal said. “The use of domestic animals is a bit bizarre.”

Criminal charges could be filed against the person or people who beheaded the cat and dog, he said.

Investigators were performing a necropsy on both animals last night to see if they had microchip implants, which are often used to identify pets.

“If they have [microchips], we should be able to trace it back to the owner,” Bengal said.

Tipsters can contact the PSPCA at 215-426-6300.

What a difference a day makes.
On Tuesday, 8-year-old Kaitlyn Bradfield was in the intensive care unit at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children with a tube down her throat, while doctors tried to determine just how badly she had been injured by a hit-and-run driver earlier in the day.
Yesterday, Kaitlyn was up and chatting on the phone to her enormously relieved relatives.
“She called and talked to everybody. She asked her mommy to bring her dolly to the hospital,” said Dorothea Ball, the girl’s aunt.
“She seems upbeat,” Ball added. “It’s a world of difference, for sure.”
Police said Kaitlyn and her twin sister, Eryca, were struck by a gray Lincoln Towncar at Colgate Street and Cheltenham Avenue about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Eryca suffered bumps and bruises. Kaitlyn suffered a worse fate — the car actually rolled over her abdomen, leaving tire marks on her body. She was initially admitted to St. Christopher’s in critical condition.
She has since been upgraded to good condition, and the worst of her injuries appear to be a broken ankle and broken arm, Ball said last night.
Meanwhile, the hunt for the motorist who mowed down the girls took an encouraging turn yesterday.
Police identified Shawn Timbers, 22, of Alcott Street near Frontenac in Northeast Philadelphia, as a “person of interest” in the case.
Timbers is believed to be a relative of the owner of the Lincoln, an investigator said.
Detectives found the car on Cheltenham Avenue near Summerdale Avenue a few hours after the accident. Their investigation was aided, in part, by a handful of residents who witnessed the accident, then chased after the car and jotted down the license plate number.
Ball said family members believe an angel was watching over Kaitlyn and Eryca, who were hit by the heartless motorist as they walked to a corner store.
Eryca, who was treated and released from St. Christopher’s a few hours after the accident, has pined to be with her sister.
The two girls, Ball noted, are inseparable.
“Eryca told her mom she wants to be in the hospital, with Kaitlyn,” she said. “They’re very, very close.”
Anyone with information on Timbers’ whereabouts can contact police at 215-685-3180.

“Don’t die on me!”
You can imagine a soldier yelling those desperate words to a wounded comrade on some gritty battlefield, half a world away.
Yesterday, they were uttered by 8-year-old Eryca Bradfield to her twin sister, Kaitlyn, moments after both girls were mowed down by a heartless hit-and-run driver in Crescentville, a relative of the youngsters said.
The adorable, inseparable sisters were on their way to a corner store on Cheltenham Avenue near Colgate Street about 3:30 p.m. when they were struck by a gray Lincoln Town Car that sped from the scene, police officials said.
Eryca, amazingly, suffered only bumps and bruises, said her aunt, Dorothea Ball. She was expected to be released from St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where she was treated for minor injuries.
Kaitlyn was not as lucky.
Police said the Lincoln rolled over the little girl, leaving tire marks on her clothes and abdomen. She was listed in critical condition last night at St. Christopher’s.
A number of local residents chased after the fleeing motorist and jotted down the Lincoln’s license plate number.
An arrest in the case was expected to come soon, an investigator said last night. Police found a car that they believe might have been involved, at Cheltenham Avenue near Summerdale Avenue.
Police said they had talked with the owner of the car but it was unclear who had been driving it.
While Kaitlyn was being monitored by doctors in an intensive care unit, her relatives tried to come to grips with the truly horrific turn of events.
“She might have some internal injuries. She has a tube down her throat, and the doctors said her stomach is distended,” said Ball.
“Everyone is devastated.”
Earlier in the day, both girls enjoyed an off day from school while they played at Ball’s house on Lawndale Avenue near Robbins Street.
Kaitlyn, the quieter of the two and a huge Hannah Montana fan, pranced around the house in a tiara, a leftover accessory from the princess costume she wore on Halloween, the aunt said.
When playtime was over, Ball said she dropped the girls off at their house on Cheltenham Avenue near Colgate Street.
Their mother, Mary Anne McIntyre, was home, as were the girls’ brothers, Jaycob, 14, and Jayson, 10, Ball noted. Their father, Eric Bradfield, was not at home.
“My husband gave them both a dollar, so they were pretty excited,” Ball said.
“I think they just decided to walk to the corner store near their house to buy something.”
Ball said she and other relatives frequently warn the girls about being mindful of cars that sometimes speed down residential streets. As a safety precaution, the sisters learned to hold hands when they crossed the street.
Ball said the girls were probably arm-in-arm on their way to the store yesterday.
In an instant, everything changed, and the girls — second-graders at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School — became victims of a painfully violent crime.
“Eryca said to her sister, ‘Don’t die on me!’ Those two, they’re inseparable,” Ball said.
“How do people sleep at night? How can you run over two little girls?”