Burglary charges dropped in alleged case of dog dialing 911

The story seemed too good to be true: Guide dog for blind Holmesburg woman scares off teen burglar who broke into her house and then dials 911 to bring police to the rescue.

Turned out it was, as the Philadelphia District Attorney's office acknowledged Thursday in withdrawing all charges against 19-year-old Tomayo McDuffy.

District Attorney Seth Williams released a statement saying new information developed by McDuffy's lawyer, William Davis, and further investigation by prosecutors raised "substantial concerns about the victim's prior history and visual acuity."

Davis gave prosecutors information in May suggesting the victim "fabricated the entire thing."

Davis said he learned that the purported victim, Maria Colon, had called police at least six times earlier to report felonies including sexual assault and robbery. All were determined to be unfounded, he said.

But even Davis conceded that Colon's allegations against McDuffy initially seemed compelling.

At a preliminary hearing, Colon, 55, her golden retriever guide dog, Yolanda, lying beside her, testified that she was awakened late on May 3, 2013, by a noise and Yolanda's growling.

Colon said she then heard voices and footsteps. One voice cursed and said, "You didn't tell me she lived with a dog."

A second voice, which Colon said she recognized as McDuffy's, replied, "It's a guide dog, it's a poodle."

Colon testified that she heard Yolanda growl and run downstairs, apparently chasing the intruders. She said Yolanda brought her the telephone receiver and she heard a police operator: "Can I help you?"

Colon testified Yolanda was trained to respond to danger in the house by pushing a 911 button on a special phone and taking the receiver to Colon. Colon said she got out of bed, fell, and went downstairs, where she noticed an overwhelming smell of natural gas. Police arrived and got her to safety, she said.

Police, however, said they found no fingerprints on the stove or on a broken basement door supposedly used by the burglars.

McDuffy's family consistently maintained that Colon was mistaken and had a history of making false calls to police.

In July 2013, a Philadelphia Daily News article raised similar questions, quoting neighbors and some of Colon's estranged relatives.

Last month, Common Pleas Court Judge Timika Lane ordered a new voice lineup for Colon to try to identify McDuffy's voice. Colon identified the wrong person.

Williams' spokeswoman, Tasha Jamerson, said her office had not filed charges against Colon.

Davis said McDuffy said he does not want to sue because of his arrest, but aims to "just put this behind me and move on with my life."

McDuffy, who has a young son, wants to complete the high school career interrupted by his arrest, Davis said. "The tragic thing is that this young man sat in jail for seven months before he could make bail," Davis added.