Trial for Linda Weston and her accused accomplices is set to begin Jan. 28, 2013, lawyers agreed today. After jury selection is completed, the trial may last up to 10 weeks.

Weston, 52, is charged with kidnapping, assault and other offenses for allegedly imprisoning four mentally disabled adults in a Tacony basement in ghastly conditions. Weston is also charged with the kidnapping and abuse of her niece.

Prosecutors have alleged that Weston and her accomplices moved the group around the country to escape notice by authorities, and stole disability checks that were meant for their captives. They were arrested in October after the four adults were discovered.

Others charged are Weston's daughter, Jean McIntosh, her boyfriend, Gregory Thomas, and Eddie Wright, a homeless "street preacher" who Weston met in Texas.

A judge lowered the bail from $10 million to $750,000 this morning for Padge-Victoria Windslowe, the so-called "Black Madam" accused of running an illegal buttock-injection business.

Windslowe, who was arrested Feb. 29, must post 10 percent of the bail amount to be released. Even then, she will remain under house arrest with her parents and be subject to electronic monitoring.

Prosecutors said Windslowe uses seven or eight names and aliases, several addresses, and that she has identification documents in multiple names. Philadelphia Lt. John Walker, of the Southwest Detective Division, said authorities also feel she is a flight risk because she runs a cash business.

Windslowe's attorney, Chris Mannix, said after the hearing that Windslowe has deep roots in Philadelphia, including three sisters, a mother and stepfather, and that she would not leave the area. He said he did not know if she would be able to post bail.

"That remains to be seen," he said.

Windslowe is charged with aggravated assault for allegedly holding a "pumping party" in which she injected a 23-year-old North Philadelphia woman with silicone or some other substance that later caused her to fall ill and be hospitalized. That woman has been released but is still on oxygen, and her health problems are ongoing, police said. Authorities believe Windslowe has given injections to at least 14 other women in recent months.

Windslowe has also been linked to the death of a 20-year-old woman who traveled to Philadelphia from London last year to undergo the procedure, then died shortly after Windslowe injected her. There has been no ruling on that woman's cause of death but police believe Windslowe is responsible.

Philly cops are still searching for two men who kidnapped a woman from Center City earlier this week, then released her later in Kensington.

The woman was working in a parking garage on the 700 block of Chestnut Street at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday when police said two men approached her. After a brief conversation with one of the men, police said they forced her into a white Chrysler Town and Country minivan, then bound her hands and feet with duct tape. They also took her phone and debit card, police said.

The men released the woman in Kensington, on the 2400 block of Aramingo Avenue, about an hour later, police said.

The suspects, who were captured on surveillance video, are described as black males with thin to medium builds. One is between 20 and 30 years old, stands about 5'8" and was wearing a suit, black hat and sunglasses at the time. The other suspect has a beard and mustache.

To view the video, go to the department's YouTube channel.

Anyone with information can call police at 215-686-TIPS.

Philly police are excpected to make an announcement soon regarding developments in the vicious home invasion in Strawberry Mansion this week.

Capt. James Clark, of the homicide unit, declined to elaborate but said investigators have made progress in the case, and that more details may be released tomorow. 

Police sources said detectives have identified at least one suspect.

A husband and wife were attacked by two gunmen who entered their home in the predawn hours Monday. The man, John Paul, was killed by multiple gunshots. His wife, Sherrell, was taken to the hospital in critical condition but has stabilized. The shooting took place in close proximity to the couple's two children, who called 911 after discovering their parents had been shot.

The gunmen fled and left in a car that was waiting in front of the house, police said.

The case has baffled police and stunned those who know the family. The Pauls are law-abiding people, police have said, and seem to have no enemies. There also were no signs of forced entry to the house. Investigators are considering the possibility that the invasion was a case of mistaken identity.

Philly police said they have zeroed in on the man who shot and killed the owner of a North Philly check cashing store last weekend. 

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of 31-year-old Eric Locke, said Philadelphia Capt. James Clark at a news conference this afternoon. Locke lives a block away from the B & R Check Cashing store at 26th and Sterner Streets where 53-year-old Joel Blumer was killed on March 3.

Blumer, a married father of two who lived in Bucks County, was approached by a man with a gun as he was opening his store at 9 a.m. The gunman shot Blumer and grabbed a duffel bag Blumer was carrying, which police said was filled with cash.

Police believe Locke, who Clark said has a violent history, may have watched Blumer and learned his routines. Blumer was a beloved figure in the neighborhood, and police immediately got many tips from residents of the area, Clark said.

Anyone with information is asked to call police. A reward of $20,000 is available for info leading to Locke's arrest and conviction.

Tune in to the city's government access channel today to see a slideshow featuring photos of 100 of Philadelphia's most wanted criminals.  The Philadelphia Police Department has compiled the photos and vital stats on 100 men and women who have outstanding warrants for violent felonies.

These perps can be seen on Channel 64 throughout the day. If you're not a regular viewer of that station - as I suspect many of us may not be - the slides are also on the department website, www.phillypolice.com.

"We need the support and involvement of the community to apprehend these individuals," Mayor Nutter said in a statement. "Being a good citizen means not looking the other way and allowing these criminals to walk our streets."

If you see someone pictured on any of the slides, or if you know someone, tips or information can be reported to the police at tips@phillypolice.com or by calling 215-686-TIPS.

Police have arrested a man in the killing of Dennis Gore, the 24-year-old son of a Philadelphia Police officer, sources said.

The suspect, whose name has not yet been released, was taken into custody at a residence this morning. The man is being charged today.

Gore, a father of two, was killed the afternoon of Feb. 6 by a gunman who walked up to him on an Overbrook street and shot him five times. The killing mystified police, who said Gore has had no criminal history.

More information about the arrest is expected to be released later today.

Police are asking for help identifying two suspects who robbed a Southwest Philadelphia corner store in August.

Footage released last week shows three suspects entering the Jaquez Grocery Store on South 62nd Street around noon.

One of the robbers pulls a Tec-9 from his waistband and shoves it in the face of a woman working the counter, while another suspect trains a handgun on two employees.

A third suspect acts as a lookout. The perps forced the victims into the basement, then emptied the cash register of about $7,500 before fleeing.

The Tec-9 wielding suspect is about 5'8", thinly built, in his late twenties and was wearing an orange baseball cap. Another suspect had a full beard and wore a blue Los Angeles Dodgers cap. Tipsters should call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.

Mayor Nutter formally announced this afternoon that the city will make up to $20,000 in reward money available in all future homicide cases, and described the strategy as "a game-changer."

"To every criminal out there: I just put a $20,000 bounty on your head," Nutter said, flanked by city officials and speaking from a news conference at Strawberry Mansion High School in North Philadelphia. "We are coming for you. We will find you. People will give up that information."

As reported in today's Inquirer, the city also will offer $500 to anyone who can tell police the location of an illegal gun. 

Nutter also announced that the city will double the funding provided to the witness assistance program. He cited the killing of Kensington bodega clerk Rosemary Fernandez-Rivera, a potential witness in a murder case who was executed by a gunman who walked into her store this week.

"We must do a better job protecting citizens against those thugs out there that subvert our criminal justice sytem, subvert public safety and continue to propagate that hateful 'don't snitch' mentality," Nutter said.

Nutter and District Attorney Seth Williams said also that they will push for stronger sentences for those arrested on weapons charges.