A man wanted for the murder of a teenage boy outside a Cherry Hill, New Jersey motel has been captured in Georgia, prosecutors said Friday night.
Kevin Fentress, 21, was nabbed by U.S. Marshals on Friday morning at the home of an acquaintance in Marietta, Ga., officials said.
The 21-year-old allegedly shot 17-year-old Jadrye Gordon and an unidentified 20-year-old man in a car outside The Inn of the Dove at 725 Cuthbert Boulevard early February 28, police said.
The victims were taken by private vehicle to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital for treatment. Gordon was later transferred to Cooper University Trauma Center where he died, police said.
All three men were at a party in one of the motel’s rooms when a fight broke out. The shooting happened shortly after, police said.
Fentress is sitting in a Georgia jail awaiting extradition. It’s not immediately clear if he retained an attorney.
Pennsylvania needs to change the way it tracks school children’s immunizations and more kids need to be vaccinated against preventable diseases, according to a report released Friday by a bipartisan group of state policymakers.
The report on youth vaccinations among K-12 students said that not enough children are being immunized by federal standards. Only 10 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania had vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella -- the MMR vaccine -- of 95 percent or higher, the group reported. Doctors strive for a rate of 95 percent or higher to keep the easily spread infections, like measles, at bay.
They also highlighted lax rules around how easily a parent can have their child exempt from being vaccinated and issues about the availability of collected immunization data.
Last year, NBC10 discovered flaws with immunization records collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health following a review of data from hundreds of school districts around the state. Records for some districts were wildly incorrect leaving open the potential for a slowed response to a disease outbreak. Health department officials said the records were being corrected and that new systems were being put in place to double-check record accuracy.
In the study, the group stated a need to strengthen vaccination reporting by requiring schools report immunization records into a statewide tracking database. Currently, schools have access to the database, but using it is voluntary.
More than a dozen recommendations were made around collecting more data about vaccinations, providing more education to families about the importance of vaccinations, and implementing stricter enforcement of state regulations.
The rules of what should be required to grant a philosophical exemption to being vaccinated should be more clear, the group said. Under this exemption, parents can opt out of having their kids immunized based on personal objection to the practice. The exemption is granted at the discretion of school administrators.
“The Work Group recommends that the Department of Health and the Department of Education provide clear procedures and criteria for documenting and certifying the allowable exemptions,” the group wrote. They did seek to change any of the exemptions.
In another recommendation, the group called for a shortening in the amount of time a student can be in school without being fully immunized. Currently, a student has eight months to get up to date on their shots before being barred from school.
The state should ensure school nurses have access to an online database of vaccination records and provide public, district level reports of vaccination rates, the group said.
Other recommendations include updating the required list of vaccinations children should get and connecting immunization reporting systems to strengthen data collection.
The 15 member confab, made up of lawmakers, health officials and policy makers, conducted the study for the Joint State Government Commission, the research arm of the state House and Senate, at the request of State Sen. Shirley Kitchen of Philadelphia (Pa. - 3rd). Kitchen is the minority chair of the Senate committee on Public Health and Welfare.
“We were hoping that the study would have painted a better picture of Pennsylvania’s oversight of vaccinations. Instead, it confirmed our fears,” Kitchen said in a statement.
Kitchen said she’s hopeful the state will adopt the group’s recommendations soon.
As many as six assistant coaches at Penn State whose careers at the school spanned three decades witnessed "inappropriate behavior" between convicted sex offender Jerry Sandusky and boys, NBC News has learned.
One coach witnessed an incident in the late 1970s while three other coaches allegedly saw inappropriate conduct between Sandusky and boys in the early and mid-1990s, sources with direct knowledge of the legal proceedings told NBC News.
The revelations come on the heels of an allegation that former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, under which Sandusky worked as a longtime assistant, was told in 1976 by a boy that Sandusky had molested him.
That allegation came to light this week in reports of an order issued by a Philadelphia judge who is presiding over litigation between an insurance company and the university.
Paterno's son described the allegation, reportedly made by the insurance company, as "bunk."
Sandusky is appealing his conviction, which put him behind bars for 30 to 60 years. He was convicted by molesting numerous boys through a charity he started in the mid-1990s.
NBC News reported Friday night that as many as six assistant coaches witnessed "inappropriate behavior."
"You won't believe what I just saw," one coach told a room full of Penn State football staff after an incident in the 1990s, according to NBC News, which cited sources who spoke to a person who was in the room.
Court papers made public this week detailed 1987 and 1978 encounters between Sandusky and children allegedly witnessed by two other coaches. The behavior was described, according to the court documents, as “inappropriate” or “sexual.”
A fight outside a sports bar in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia led to a stabbing that critically wounded a man and injured another late Friday night.
Police say the fight began at the Bamboo Sports Bar & Grill on the 6200 block of Bustleton Avenue around 11 p.m. After the scuffle spilled out to the parking lot an unidentified suspect took out a knife and stabbed a 25-year-old man in the right rib cage and slashed a 22-year-old man on the right hand, police said. The suspect then fled the area.
The 25-year-old was taken to Aria-Torresdale Hospital where he is currently in critical condition. The 22-year-old man was taken to Aria-South Hospital where he received three stitches to his hand.
Police say the suspect Is a white or Hispanic male with a medium build, stands 5-foot-5 and is between the ages of 25 and 27 with a medium to dark complexion.
If you have any information on the incident, please call Philadelphia Police.
Parents and teachers at a Burlington County school are praising a police officer who went above and beyond to congratulate students on the opening night of their spring musical.
Roxanne Ferguson, a Burlington Township Middle School music teacher and director of the school musicals, told NBC10 over 775 people attended the first night of their spring musical “The Little Mermaid” Friday. One person in the audience happened to be one of their biggest supporters, Burlington Township Police officer and Student Resource Officer Javier Ortiz.
“He’s a big musical fan,” Ferguson said.
Officer Ortiz surprised the students with over 100 bouquets of flowers and 30 flower baskets.
“Each child received two bouquets, one for them and the other for them to give to their mothers for Mother’s Day,” Ferguson said. “This is not only a celebration of the students but a moment to recognize a police officer who went above and beyond his call of duty.”
Be sure to watch the musical Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. at Burlington Township High School on 610 Fountain Avenue in Burlington, New Jersey.
The driver of a minivan shot to death by a Philadelphia police officer early Wednesday morning was identified as Richard Ferretti from a northeast Pennsylvania town.
Ferretti, 52, of Andreas, which is about 15 miles north of Allentown, allegedly failed to listen to plainclothes officers as they stood in front of his minivan and yelled at him to stop as he drove on Overbrook Avenue near Lancaster Avenue.
"Police received several calls" from college students concerned about the man "casing the area," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross. "Police arrived and they saw the male doing just exactly what the callers indicated," said Ross. "They attempted to stop the male, initially he tries to flee."
Homicide detectives investigated the shooting. It was one of two police-involved shootings late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. Another man, allegedly armed with a gun, was shot in Southwest Philadelphia two hours earlier.
The incident that left Ferretti shot occurred shortly before 1 a.m. Crews rushed him to Penn Presbyterian Hospital but he was dead on arrival.
Plainclothes officers cut off the driver around the corner and told him to stop, said Ross.
"Apparently (the driver) attempts to flee from them, trapping one of the officers between the car and some other area where (the officer) didn't feel he could escape and he discharged his weapon," said Ross. "That male was struck, one time I think, and he was subsequently pronounced dead."
"I heard a screeching sound and I heard a loud boom," said witness Gregory McCowin. "So I got up and I heard 'freeze, stop!'"
"It's way too early" to determine if the shooting was justified, said Ross. An internal affairs investigation would determine the exact circumstances leading to the incident.
The incident played out on police radio. "All cars standby... shots fired," said police band traffic around the time of the shooting.
"Do we have an offender hit?" asks one voice.
"It's all under control," can be heard a short time later as officers are told to resume with regular police work.
Investigators focused on the crashed minivan with its airbag deployed. Ross said officers didn't find a weapon in the vehicle.
About 90 minutes earlier, officers on patrol heard gunshots then found a man shooting into the air from the back porch of a home along Grays Avenue near Lindbergh Boulevard in Southwest Philadelphia and asked him to drop the weapon, said Philadelphia Police.
"Police are in the area in this case and they hear gunshots," said Ross.
"They approach the male, tell the male to drop the weapon, and that male aims and fires one shot at police, misses," said Philadelphia Police Lt. Ray Evers. "And then one of the officers fires two times back and shoots the man in the leg"
The man, later identified as 50-year-old Desmond Abernathy, then made his way inside the house where police arrested him and took him to Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition, investigators said. They also took another man who was inside the home, later identified as 47-year-old Curt Joseph, in for questioning.
Police say they recovered a weapon and ballistic evidence at the scene.
Abernathy is charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, violation of the uniform firearms act and related offenses. Joseph is charged with hindering apprehension, violation of the uniform firearms act, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice and other related offenses.
It was a dark start to the weekend in Philadelphia and Norristown as intense fires killed six people, including a child, and sent seven to the hospital over a 12 hour span Saturday, fire officials in both towns said.
Norristown Fire chief Tom O'Donnell said when firefighters got to the home, they were met with heavy flames on the first floor. The fire quickly grew to two alarms, he said.
Two adults were found dead inside the home and a child was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center and later died, O'Donnell said. It's not yet clear if they were related.
Another child was rushed to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in critical condition. Five other people were taken to nearby hospitals. Their injuries and conditions were not immediately known.
O'Donnell said his department, Pennsylvania State Police and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office is investigating. He couldn't say whether smoke detectors were in the home.
A few hours before, in South Philadelphia, a couple died in their bedroom as a fire tore through the third floor of their rowhome, the city's acting fire commissioner said.
Philadelphia firefighters were called to the home along the 1700 block of Moore Street around midnight. When they arrived, heavy flames were coming from the house's third floor front bedroom, said Derrick Sawyer, the fire commissioner.
Sawyer said the couple had six smoke detectors in the home, but that the batteries were bad. There was a lot of debris piled up inside the home, which may have provided fuel for the flames. The alley next to the home was blocked with debris as well.
The Philadelphia Fire Marshal is investigating the cause.
As probes into both fires got underway, a third blaze broke out inside a West Philadelphia apartment.
Heavy flames tore through the apartment inside a building along the 4700 block of Hazel Avenue around 7:35 a.m.
Sawyer said it appeared a man tried to fight back the flames instead of escaping. He was overcome inside the apartment and died. Firefighters found an extinguisher near where the fire started as well as a working smoke alarm system.
"If there's a fire, get out and stay out," Sawyer advised residents. "Don't fight the fire. Especially if you don't have a large enough fire extinguisher. The second thing is this apartment building had bars on the windows. If you're going to have bars on the windows you want to make sure that everyone has a quick-release button on the bars so that people can get out safely. Have an escape plan. You have to have a plan to get out when there's a fire."
Another resident was taken to a nearby hospital with undisclosed injuries. Eight people inside the building were able to escape. Eleven people in all were displaced from the apartment complex as well as an adjacent building.
There have been eight fire fatalities so far this year in Philadelphia. Last year at this time there were five fire fatalities.
"You can see we're not doing a pretty good job of keeping our people safe in the city," Sawyer said.
Sawyer took to Twitter following both fires reminding residents that firefighters will install smoke detectors with 10 year batteries in homes for free. All they need to do is call 311 and make the request.
"If there's a fire get out first and dial 911," he said. "If you try to fight the fire you may not be successful."
Police are working to identity a woman who was found dead in Center City's Society Hill neighborhood Saturday morning.
Officials told NBC10 they were setting up for the South Street Spring Festival on the 500 block of S. 5th Street at 10:39 a.m. when they found an unresponsive 50-year-old woman. She was pronounced dead by a medic at 10:45 a.m.
Investigators have not released the woman’s identity but told NBC10 they are familiar with her and believe she was homeless. They have not yet determined a cause of death but don’t suspect anything suspicious at this time.
An investigation is underway after a woman was found dead inside a vacant home in the Kensington section of the city Saturday afternoon.
Police say they were informed of a possible homicide inside a vacant home on 2900 Rosehill Street shortly before 2:30 p.m. When they went inside the building they found the body of an unidentified woman.
Police have not yet determined a cause of death but say the woman had suffered head trauma. No arrests have been made. They continue to investigate.
A baby girl who was critically hurt in a crash that killed a 6-year-old boy and 20-year-old man and also injured six others last Sunday passed away Friday night.
The aunt of 7-week-old Zyana Wilson confirmed with NBC10 the baby girl died from her injuries. Zyana’s father, 20-year-old Zaire Ross-Wilson, as well as 6-year-old Eric Barksdale-Perez also died in the crash which occurred Sunday afternoon along a wet road in the Wissahickon section of Philadelphia.
A candlelight vigil was held for the three victims Saturday night.
Zyana, her father and Barksdale-Perez were all passengers inside a 2005 Gray Mazda 6 that was traveling northbound on the 4200 block of Henry Avenue just before 4 p.m. Sunday. An unidentified driver, 25-year-old woman, 23-year-old woman, 5-year-old boy and 4-year-old boy were also inside the car at the time. Police say the driver crossed into the southbound lanes and was struck by a second vehicle occupied by two adults.
The impact caused the passengers of the vehicle that veered into traffic to be ejected, said police. No one in that car -- aside from Zyana, who was in the car seat -- was buckled in, according to police.
"It's never advisable not to be restrained to begin with," Philadelphia Police Accident Investigation Capt. John Wilczynski. "This is very unfortunate. You see the devastation that occurred as a result of not being restrained in the back of that vehicle.”
Barksdale-Perez died at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children a short time later. Ross-Wilson, who was in the backseat, died overnight at a hospital. Zyana, who was critically injured, died Friday night, according to her family.
A family member told NBC10 the other victims of the crash are doing okay.
Officials continue to investigate the cause of the accident though they say DUI is not suspected nor was excessive speed. Instead they suspect the rainy weather that day played a role.
"The roadway was wet," said Wilczynski.
Witnesses told NBC10 the stretch of road where the crash occurred includes a curve that is particularly dangerous during rainy weather. Residents in the area as well as a state representative have lobbied PennDOT to make safety changes to the area.
The Coast Guard late Saturday suspended the search for a jet skier who went missing in the Delaware River in Trenton.
It was unclear if the search would resume Sunday morning.
Officials said 26-year-old Jesus Diaz Melendez of Trenton and his friend ran aground on their jet ski near the Trenton boat ramp on Canal Boulevard and were both ejected. The crew of the vessel A.J. Meerwald found the second jet skier in the water. The crew contacted the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay who launched a 29-foot response boat crew as well as a helicopter crew. The boat crew rescued the second jet skier who confirmed his friend Melendez was missing.
The Coast Guard, Trenton Fire Department and New Jersey State Police Department are all searching for Melendez. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay command center at 215-271-4940.
