Two robbers attacked a pizza deliveryman with a hammer in Northeast Philadelphia Wednesday night, according to police.
The deliveryman told police he parked on the 6400 block of Ditman Street to deliver pizza to a home a block away. After delivering the pizza, the deliveryman headed back to his vehicle when two men came up to him from behind and struck him in the head with a hammer, police said. They then stole between $80 and $100 in cash from him before fleeing on foot on Levick Street.
The deliveryman did not lose consciousness during the attack and was able to call police. He also refused medical treatment.
Police have not yet released a description of the two suspects. They continue to investigate.
School officials in Camden, New Jersey, told parents this week that they are investigating a series of alleged violent encounters between students at the city's high school.
At least two group fights have broken out in recent weeks, according to officials at Woodrow Wilson High School, who added that security would be increased. One of the alleged attacks was caught on video and posted on social media.
Principal Keith Miles Jr.. sent a letter home to parents, informing them about incidents that allegedly happened both inside and outside school, including at the Dudley Grange Park just across the street from the school.
"We have already met with the Central Office and will be increasing security presence for the reminder of the year. We will continue to mediate with groups that are having challenges getting along within our school and community," the principal wrote in the letter sent out Monday. "We encourage your student to talk with their teachers and school leaders if they learn of any activity that could make others unsafe."
Parents told Telemundo 62 that they believed the attacks were racially motivated.
“My son was kicked on the head. He was unconscious for four hours. I took him to Cooper (University Hospital)," said Jeannette Rivera one of the mothers whom children were hurt in the alleged “racial fights" between black and Hispanic students. “We need help from the authorities to stop this behavior, because this is terrorism."
The level of security in the school remains a concern for some parents.
“They could get in with any type of weapons," parent Félix Cuevas said. "We have to avoid a tragedy in this city."
Principal Miles said in his letter that "in the days ahead" they would have mediators work with the families of students involved.
A tractor trailer lost its load on Front and Market streets Wednesday night. No one was injured during the incident.
The ramp to I-95 was closed as crews cleaned up the mess. It was later reopened.
While the weather stories the past few days have been about rounds of unsettled weather including rain and wintry mix for some moving across The Delaware Valley, we now turn our attention to a POLAR PUSH of frigid air sweeping in by late Thursday and thwarting overnight lows in the 20s.
We’ve been hovering close to or slightly above normal with our daily temps, but now expect our high temps to be about 10 to 15 degrees below normal. Overnight lows will also be below the norm of 33 (Philly) by the end of the week.
The images below depict a deepening blue gradient denoting the colder air moving in and then pretty much staying there through Monday. However, we won’t be done with the cold of course (Meteorological Winter has just started!) and I’m already tracking an ARCTIC BLAST by the end of the following week.
Our weather will be dominated by a high pressure system for the most part through Sunday, although we could get some low-level moisture creeping into The Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania suburbs, with a northwest wind influence. That means we could get some lake effect snow, with the strength of the low over Canada and strong northwest winds. With that said, winds will shift from Thursday westerlies to Friday gusty northwesterlies. I expect the winds to kick up by Thursday afternoon; however, it isn’t until the colder air and northwest shift takes hold that most of us will notice the polar push.
A look at the wind profile below of the last run of NAM (12Z) highlights Thursday’s west wind shifting to WNW wind by Thursday night then a NW wind by Friday morning. Of course, that means wind chill indices or “feels-like temperatures” are absolutely going to be compromised, making it feel like temps are colder than they actually are.
A convicted child predator who had been a fugitive since skipping a sentencing hearing in Montgomery County in 2006 was sentenced in England Wednesday for raping another child.
Gerald Zalewski, 33, was sentenced in Lancashire, England to 12 years in jail, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele.
“The FBI notified us today that Zalewski was sentenced today in England for committing a similar sexual crime against a child,” said Steele. “Once the defendant serves his time in England, we want him back to lock him up. This violent predator will be off of the streets for a very long time.”
The initial charges against Zalewski in Montgomery County stem from an investigation in July and August of 2004. Officials say Zalewski had several sexually explicit Internet chats with a police officer posing as a 12-year-old. Zalewski was arrested on August 15, 2004 after he arranged a meeting with the undercover detective in order to have sex.
Investigators also determined Zalewski had previously sexually assaulted a 13-year-old Bucks County girl he met online in June of 2004 and more charges were filed against him. Zalewski pleaded guilty on November 14, 2005 to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and criminal attempt to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. Zalewski never showed up to his sentencing hearing on March 29, 2006 however and was then charged with flight to avoid punishment and default in required appearance. The District Attorney’s Office placed him on watch lists, including the FBI’s “America’s Most Wanted.”
Police say Zalewski was convicted of a similar crime in England after he contacted another 13-year-old over the Internet, manipulated her into sending him indecent images and arranged to meet her in a park in June of 2016. When the two met, Zalewski sexually abused the girl for several hours. Investigators say he put masking tape on the girl’s mouth, put a dog collar around her neck and wrote the words, “rape me” on her leg. He then took pictures of the girl with his cellphone.
Zalewski then fled after the incident but was arrested in Kent, England on June 21 after a manhunt. He pleaded guilty in October to penetrative sexual activity with a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming, making indecent photographs of a child and false imprisonment. He was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded 82 new vehicles as the safest picks for 2017.
Of the 82 vehicles awarded Thursday, 38 earned the highest ranking of Top Safety Pick+. Those vehicles not only earned good ratings in five crash test evaluations but have effective features that can prevent crashes, the IIHS said.
Toyota/Lexus led among automakers with nine of its 2017 models making the Top Safety Pick+ list. Honda and its Acura division had five Top Safety Pick+ awards.
Meanwhile, 44 vehicles were in the Top Safety Pick category, one ranking lower.
IIHS said that it toughened the criteria for Top Safety Pick+ to reflect headlight evaluations that it launched this year. Only seven of the vehicles in the top category earned a good rating for headlights.
The vehicles that got a good headlight rating are: Chevrolet Volt small car, Honda Ridgeline pickup, Hyundai Elantra small car, Hyundai Santa Fe midsize SUV, Subaru Legacy midsize car, Toyota Prius v midsize car and Volvo XC60 midsize luxury SUV.
"The field of contenders is smaller this year because so few vehicles have headlights that do their job well, but it's not as small as we expected when we decided to raise the bar for the awards," IIHS President Adrian Lund said in a report.
The 2017 report also found that autobrake features are becoming more common, with 21 of this year's winners including a standard front crash prevention system with automatic braking capabilities.
Here’s the complete list of this year’s winners.
A 20-year-old New Jersey man has been arrested in the death of college student whose body was found at a state forest reserve last week, eight days after she was reported missing.
Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, of East Orange, was charged Tuesday with one count of murder and one count of desecration of human remains in the slaying of Sarah Butler, who was a second-year student at New Jersey City University.
Butler, of Montclair, was reported missing to the Montclair Police Department on Nov. 23 and had last been seen at a recording studio. Law enforcement officers found her body Dec. 1 in Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange.
Butler's father, Victor Butler, told NBC 4 New York Wednesday the arrest "gives me a sense of hope, but our main focus is burying her."
Prosecutors say Weaver and Butler knew each other and spent time together at various points throughout the day before she was killed. Something happened, and police believe Wheeler-Weaver strangled the 20-year-old student, killing her. He then took her car and left her body at Eagle Rock Reservation, they say.
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murrary said Wednesday, "At this stage, we are only prepared to say that they were acquainted. She was a student at New Jersey City University. The defendant is not a student there but at this juncture we believe they were acquainted before Nov. 22."
Butler's father doesn't remember seeing Wheeler-Weaver around.
"I've seen a picture of him but I can't really say right now. I can only see my daughter's face right now," Victor Butler said.
Wheeler-Weaver is being held in the Essex County Correctional Facility on $1,000,000 bail. Information on an attorney for him wasn't immediately available.
Butler's college released a statement after her body was found mourning her death.
"NJCU is devastated by the tragic and senseless loss of Sarah Butler, whose life touched so many throughout the campus," the university said. "Our deepest sympathies go out to Sarah's family and friends during this difficult time."
It's the most wonderful time of the year -- until your package gets stolen from your doorstep.
Want to avoid these "crimes of opportunity"? Here are a few tips to keep your packages safe during the holidays:
1. Ask for a tracking number to know when your package is delivered. Track your packages and try to be home at the time of delivery. When you're placing an order, try to schedule shipment for a day you expect to be home, if possible.
2. Not sure if you'll be available for your tracked package's delivery? FedEx and United States Postal Service (USPS) suggest scheduling your delivery beforehand to set a time you know you'll be home.
3. FedEx also suggests requesting a signature for delivery. This will ensure the package won't be left at your door without you there to sign and bring it safely inside.
4. Want your package placed at the back door or behind a porch plant instead? Leave a note specifying what less conspicuous spot you would like it left. The FedEx Delivery Manager lets you leave delivery instructions on where you want your deliveries to be dropped off.
5. Have your packages delivered somewhere else. If you know you won't be home when your package will be delivered, FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS) tell you to opt for delivering it to a neighbor who is home or to your workplace, if allowed.
6. Another option is to deliver your packages to a retail store or locker, where they'll stay safe until you can pick them up at your convenience. Many retailers will let you place online orders and then pick up your items in the store. You can also look into the Amazon Locker service, which delivers Amazon orders to a "locker" in your area; you're provided a pickup code that will unlock the door for you. And the U.S. Postal Service suggests taking advantage of their Request Hold Mail service, which securely holds letters and packages at your local post office until you're back in town. FedEx and UPS also have similar location delivery services.
7. UPS suggests signing up for a service called "UPS My Choice," which allows users to request their packages to be held at a UPS store for pick-up and more. You can control the service through text or email; it includes features such as delivery notices and the option to re-route your packages to a different address if you won't be home. You can also re-route your packages using the FedEx Delivery Manager.
A drive-by shooting at a busy West Philadelphia intersection left a 59-year-old man lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wounds to his hip.
Gunfire rang out just after midnight at 52nd Street and Haverford Avenue, said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
"Based on witness accounts... the male was standing on the corner when a car drove by – a dark or black Nissan – going north on 52nd Street and an occupant fired at least one shot from this vehicle," said Small.
Responding officers scooped up the gunshot victim and rushed him to Penn Presbyterian Hospital where he was listed in critical condition, said police. He is expected to survive, said Small.
The car – possibly a Maxima – sped off along 52nd Street, said Small.
There are at least a half dozen businesses – one a restaurant open at the time – with surveillance cameras in the area, said Small. Investigators hoped those recordings would reveal more details.
