A few bits of crime news, collected by Stephanie Farr, John F. Morrison and yours truly:
*A man wearing a Chicago White Sox hat robbed the Citizens Bank branch at 5th Street near Godfrey Avenue in Olney this morning. The man handed a teller a demand note and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, the FBI said. He was described as a short black man in his early 20s with a mustache and goatee. Anyone with information about his identity should call the FBI at 215-418- 4000.
*District Attorney Lynne Abraham and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey announced that the city’s Gun Violence Task Force will start arresting people who lie on their applications for firearms licenses. The task force, which combines police officers and assistant district attorneys, began in 2006 with funding from the state. So far the operation has made 346 arrests and seized 673 firearms.
*Nefertiti Randall, 29, was sentenced yesterday to 66 months in federal prison for an extensive identity-theft scheme. Randall, of Irving Street near 54th, West Philadelphia, used the credit- card numbers of nine people to make $20,129 in purchases. Randall, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, was ordered to pay $38,000 in restitution. Authorities said Randall plotted this scheme while she was in prison for similar offenses.
*A 21-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and repeatedly punched in the face by a knife-wielding man who grabbed her about 10:30 p.m. Saturday as she was entering her apartment on Locust Street near Van Pelt, Center City, police said. The man ran when she shot in the face with pepper spray, police said. He was described as a slender black man in his late 20s with a goatee and wearing a red Phillies hat. Anyone with information about his identity is urged to call the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.
*An arrest warrant was issued yesterday for Justin Peoples, 20, accused of being involved in a shooting on Pomona Street near McCallum, Germantown, on July 30. No one was injured. Peoples, who is also known as “Blaze,” is a suspect in several other cases, police said. His last known address was on the same block of Pomona Street where the shooting occurred. Tipsters can contact detectives at 215-686-3353.
*A 25-year-old woman was upgraded from critical to stable condition at Jefferson University Hospital yesterday after being hit by a car while riding a bicycle along Delaware Avenue near Christian Street in Queen Village Sunday night.
According to police, the bicyclist was hit as she was crossing three lanes of traffic shortly before midnight. The driver stayed at the scene and will not face any charges.
Look, we have a State Parolee Crime Problem in "Killadelphia". Yeah there are over 49,000 Probationers...Yeah we have 1/6th the population of New York City, but 6 Times the Crime Rate...BUT, we have 9,000 State Parolees that are not being "Supervised" because the Parole Agent caseloads are DOUBLE that of other states... Twice the Maximum recommended by National Parole Association! Nobody can be supervised at those levels. Rendell is releasing 2,000 Inmates per month into our neighborHOODs and NOT screening them for drugs and NOT sending them back to prison for any Parole Violations...in many cases, even if they pick up a new criminal case! Parole Board Chairman, McVey, has repeatedly refused to surrender documentation to State Auditors to hide their crimes. Documentation is even being destroyed! The State Attorney General (Tom Corbett) was repeatedly told and has done Nothing! There are over 500 State Parole and DOC Escapees in Killadelphia, right now, as you read this! The Mayor, City Council, State Legislature...all have repeatedly betrayed their sacred trust...Murder victim after murder victim...destroyed family after destroyed family. What's worse is that the news media has also chosen to betray it's sacred duty to the public. The news media wants a "Bail Out" too. We've paid for Rendell's "No Bid" and "Inappropriate" contracts to his law firm, campaign contributors and "friends" with the blood of our crime victims and the bodies of our family members. He's turned a World Class City into the Largest Open Air Prison in America and 1st in the Nation in COP KILLINGS. We've even been called "The City of Death". Why aren't the FEDs following the money/blood trails back to Rendell? No, Eddie isn't selling kidneys, but he's been killing us for YEARS! Now his "Spin Doctor" is bailing and Eddie is working on his memoirs...and what a "Legacy" it is.... The President's Comment Line is 1-202-456-1111, U.S. Attorney = 215-861-8200. How bout making one phone call?— John Law
Dana DiFilippo has covered murder, mayhem and miscellany at the Daily News since 2000. She grew up in Delaware County and studied journalism and photography at Penn State University. E-mail tips to difilid@phillynews.com.
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Stephanie Farr has been reporting for the Daily News since 2007, covering everything from gay porn stars who entered the burglary business to moon trees, skinheads, murders and naked bike rides. She covers crime, both in the city and suburbs, and keeps clippings of bizarre Associated Press articles. Her favorite this year was the story about the drunk in Punxsutawney who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead opossum. E-mail tips to farrs@phillynews.com.
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Phillip Lucas joined the Daily News crime team in 2011. He grew up on the mean streets of Seattle and studied journalism and psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Before landing in the City of Brotherly Love, Phillip was a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. Email tips to lucasp@phillynews.com.
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Morgan Zalot is the newest crime reporter at the Daily News, starting in 2011 after interning at the paper twice as a Temple University journalism student. In her past stints at the DN, she covered just about everything, from drunken Phillies fans to a barber shop in a high school to a grisly murder-suicide. She’s a born-and-raised Philly girl who grew up in the Northeast. E-mail tips to zalotm@philly.com.
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