Two Upper Darby men found dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning

Two Upper Darby men were found dead in their apartments Friday of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning after workers in a grocery below used a gas generator to power store freezers.

The employees turned to the generator because the store's electricity had been cut off for lack of payment.

Ernesto "Juan" Huerta, 58, and Stephen Butler, 50, were found dead about 7:40 a.m., around 12 hours after the generator had been left running at the Smart International Grocery Store at 7301 West Chester Pike.

"They are dead for no reason, because someone didn't want to pay the electric bill," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael J. Chitwood said. "This is really stupid, bringing a generator into the locked environment."

Pennsylvania Department of State records identified the owner of the grocery as Benny Abraham of Schwenksville. He could not be reached for comment.

Paramedics measured carbon monoxide 30 to 60 times greater than safe levels, Upper Darby Fire Chief Ed Cubler said. It took firefighters three hours to clear the building of carbon monoxide.

Peco spokesman Ben Armstrong confirmed that Peco shut off the electricity Wednesday because the account was in arrears, but only after repeated warnings. "It's our very last resort," Armstrong said. He would not disclose how much was owed.

He said the customer did make the "required payment" to restore service on Wednesday, but it typically takes from 24 to 72 hours to get the power back on.

After the electricity was shut off, Chitwood said, an employee went to a Home Depot on Baltimore Pike and leased the generator.

The investigation is continuing, Chitwood said, adding that autopsies would be conducted over the weekend.

"This is an extreme shock to me," said John Ragu, whose family owns the building and collects rent from the store and two tenants. "I feel terrible. I don't know where the generator came from or about the electricity issues."

The two-story yellow-brick building is across from the police station and a short block from the firehouse.

Huerta, owner of Pinky's restaurant, at 18th and South Streets in Philadelphia, was found by his daughters on the bathroom floor. They came to the apartment after he did not show up for work or answer the phone.

Firefighters found Butler in his bed.

While officials prepared to remove the bodies, Huerta's family gathered in the grocery-story parking lot with the Rev. Peter J. Welsh of St. Katharine Drexel Church in Chester, coordinator of the Hispanic Ministry of Delaware County.

He had recited the prayer for the dead in Spanish in the apartment, then repeated it with family members outside.

After the bodies were brought out and placed in the brown Suburban Medical Examiner's van, investigators wheeled out the gas-powered, red-and-black generator - the size of a foot locker, capable of generating 6,500 watts of power. It took four men to load the generator into the police evidence van.

A card on the side of the side of the device read, "Using a generator indoors can kill you in minutes," Chitwood said.

Acquaintances called Huerta a kind-hearted man and hard worker.

He had come to Philadelphia by way of Mexico and California about 20 years ago, said Pinchas Jakubovits, who sold Pinky's to Huerta three years ago.

Huerta worked seven days a week, rising at 5 a.m., serving breakfast and lunch. He would send money back to his wife and other family members in Mexico, Jakubovits said. He called his friend a "good man and a good father."

Jonelle Belfiore, 34, worked at Pinky's alongside Huerta for about three years.

She called him a generous man who would do anything for anyone. He would make meals for a homeless man who frequented the area, at times taking the sandwich across the street for him.