A water main break shut down a block in a Delaware County neighborhood Monday afternoon.
Police told NBC10 crews were doing work on MacDade Boulevard between Wayne and Clifton avenues in Collingdale when an eight-inch main broke, causing water to flow onto the street.
The 900 block of MacDade Boulevard was closed and about 60 customers were affected. Officials shut down the main shortly before 4 p.m. but spent around eight hours cleaning up the street.
A South Jersey high school football player appeared in court Monday after he and three teammates were arrested in connection to a string of robberies in two different towns.
Devin Delanie, 18, and three 17-year-old boys are charged with armed robbery and other related offenses. Delanie and the three teens allegedly committed three robberies in the span of 30 minutes in Lakewood, New Jersey.
Police also said Delanie and at least two of the teens were involved in the robbery of two women in Toms River, New Jersey as well as a robbery at a Toms River Red Lobster restaurant back on September 26.
The four suspects are all students at Lakewood High School and play for the football team.
“It’s a shame,” said Jasmine Adame, a senior at Lakewood High. “They were about to graduate, had a whole future ahead of them and they messed up.”
Delanie appeared in court Monday and is being held on $250,000 bail. His father Bryant Worthy told NBC10’s Ted Greenberg his son was falsely accused and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“He’s not guilty,” Worthy said. “ are false. He’s a good guy. Just like OJ Simpson, he plays basketball and football.”
NBC10 also reached out to the Lakewood School District for comment.
“We have a memorandum of agreement with local law enforcement,” wrote Lakewood School District Superintendent Laura A. Winters. “Part of the agreement is that a statement will not be made until the criminal investigation is completed.”
A spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office told NBC10 a decision on whether the three 17-year-old suspects will be charged as adults won’t be made until his office receives all documentation on the case from police.
UPDATE: An arrest has been made in the rape and robbery. New details here.
Police are questioning a person of interest in the beating, sexual assault and robbery of a woman in Chinatown.
The 45-year-old victim was inside her Chinatown business on the 100 block of N. 9th Street Sunday morning when a man walked in the front door, forced her into an office, struck her head multiple times, choked her and then sexually assaulted her, police said.
She was also robbed of $600, according to authorities.
The suspect, who police describe as a white male in his 20's with short brown hair and a light beard, ran from the scene on foot.
"Based on just his mannerisms of doing this it seems like it's something that he's used to doing," said Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Stanford. "He may have done this before, whether it was in this city or some place else. It seemed like he was very comfortable doing this."
The victim was transported to Jefferson Hospital where she was treated for minor head injuries.
On Monday two patrol officers spotted a man who they claimed matched the description of the attacker. He was taken to the Special Victim's Unit and is currently being questioned. He is only a person of interest however and not a suspect. No charges have been filed.
Anyone with information on the attack is urged to call Philadelphia Police.
A Delaware mother was arrested after her 4-year-old daughter brought over 200 bags of heroin to school and passed them out to other children at a local daycare, thinking they were candy, police say.
Delaware State Troopers and medics were called to the Hickory Tree Child Care Center on Hickory Tree Lane in Selbyville Monday around 11:45 a.m. Staff at the daycare told police they spotted some children with small bags of an unknown substance.
The white powdery substance inside the bags was removed by the teachers and taken to the Selbyville Police Department. Investigators determined the substance was heroin.
According to investigators, a 4-year-old girl unknowingly brought the bags of heroin to the daycare inside a backpack that her mother, identified as 30-year-old Ashley Tull, gave her. Police said Tull gave her daughter the bag after her other backpack was ruined by a family pet.
The girl passed the packets of heroin to her classmates, believing they were candy, according to investigators. Police said 249 bags of heroin weighing 3.735 grams were found inside the backpack.
Several children who came in contact with the unopened bags were taken to local hospitals as a precaution. They were later released.
Tull was apprehended by state troopers after she arrived at the daycare. She was then taken into custody after being interviewed.
She is charged with maintaining a drug property and endangering the welfare of a child. She was arraigned and released after posting $6,000 bail.
The 4-year-old girl as well as Tull’s 9-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter were placed in the custody of a relative. Tull was ordered to not have any contact with her children.
Police continue to investigate the incident and said more charges could be filed.
In light of school security breaches in recent years, a suburban Philadelphia county has taken action.
In hopes of ensuring the safety of its students and faculty, Delaware County installed a silent alarm system known as The Police Alert for School Safety (DelPASS) at many schools in the county.
Similar panic button devices installed in public, private, parochial and kindergarten programs across the county, immediately alert law enforcement of intruders and threats within schools.
“Public safety is our No. 1 priority and we are always working on improving school safety,” Councilman Dave White said. “The panic buttons are another layer of technology that is now available to make our schools safer and to help law enforcement respond more quickly to a threat.”
Funding obtained by the Delaware County Council and the District Attorney’s paid for the devices and homeland security installed the units. An $188,600 grant from the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Task Force helped with the process.
The installation of the systems in Delaware County schools began in September 2013 with each school having a final say on implementation. Nearly 200 DelPASS alarms are now in K through 12 schools in the area with more on the way, according to county officials.
“We hope there is never a situation where we need to use this, but if so we are prepared," said County Council Chairman Tom McGarrigle. "The safety of our students and teachers is a top priority.”
Radio Communications Service Inc. won the bid on becoming the vendor of the alarm systems which are located in a school’s “command post” or main office where security camera footage can give warning of a threat. Once a button is pushed, the alert goes directly to 9-1-1 dispatchers who are given the school name, address, and button location. The dispatcher can then alert police and can communicate with the button-pusher via a two-way microphone. It fills the gap of recognizing a threat and getting the police on the scene.
DelPASS is currently specific to Delaware County, but is being considered by Chester County. As a result, Chairman of the Chester County Board of Commissioners Ryan Costello was accompanied by McGarrigle as they visited Worrall Elementary School in Broomall this morning to speak on the topic of safety with Principal John Beltrante. They also witnessed a demonstration of the DelPASS “Panic Buttons” that are meant to prevent tragedies like the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newton, Connecticut. Costello says that he was “very comfortable with [the panic button] implementation.”
“It’s an excellent security feature,” comments Beltrante whose school is entering its second year with the silent alarm. “It cuts down amount of time it would take to call 9-1-1 and, as we know, in any emergency situation, every second counts.”
A public service video on DelPASS can be viewed on the county's website.
A homeless man was arrested and charged in the beating, sexual assault and robbery of a woman in Chinatown, according to police.
Brandon Menley, 29, is charged with attempted murder, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, and other related offenses.
According to police, Menley walked into a business on the 100 block of N. 9th Street Sunday morning. He then allegedly forced a 45-year-old woman into an office, struck her head multiple times, choked her and then sexually assaulted her.
He also robbed her of $600 before fleeing the scene on foot, according to authorities.
"Based on just his mannerisms of doing this it seems like it's something that he's used to doing," said Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Stanford. "He may have done this before, whether it was in this city or some place else. It seemed like he was very comfortable doing this."
The victim was transported to Jefferson Hospital where she was treated for head lacerations which required five to six staples.
On Monday two patrol officers spotted Menley walking to a homeless shelter on Hamilton Street, about eight blocks away from where the attack took place.
He was taken to the Special Victim's Unit where he was questioned. He was then officially charged Monday night.
Sources tell NBC10 the suspect had run-ins with Menley twice before Sunday's incident. During one incident she threw him out of a building while she was working with a group of children.
A car accident caused two vehicles to smash into row homes in the Frankford section of the city Monday night.
A driver of an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme ran a red light on Torresdale Avenue at Wakeling Street around 9 p.m., according to investigators. The Supreme then struck an SUV that was passing by.
The collision caused the Supreme to crash into a nearby row home. The SUV also struck another home on the same block.
Two people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash and were taken to Hahnemann Hospital.
No charges have been filed in the accident but police continue to investigate.
A Philadelphia Department of Human Services manager stole nearly $18,000 worth of SEPTA tokens, according to police.
Shamira Hawkins-Worthey, 30, of North 9th Street was arrested and charged with 1576 counts of theft, forgery and tampering with public records. According to police, Hawkins-Worthey, who worked as a Social Worker Services Manager for the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, submitted fraudulent overtime expenses and stole SEPTA fare tokens from the agency.
Hawkins-Worthey had been working for the city since November 20, 2006. As a Social Worker Services Manager, her responsibilities included obtaining SEPTA fare tokens for DHS clients who had to commute to court hearings, medical appointments and visitations. DHS workers buy the tokens at full price from SEPTA and are required to submit written requests citing the case number of their client, identifying the intended recipient of the tokens, detailing the reason for the request and the amount of tokens requested.
In September of 2013, a DHS Administrative Supervisor noticed that Hawkins-Worthey requested a total of 300 SEPTA tokens during a two-day period, which is an unusually high amount. Those requests were for cases that were either inactive or closed, according to police.
After conducting an audit of SEPTA token requests made by Hawkins-Worthey, the Inspector General’s Office discovered she submitted 640 requests and received 11,474 tokens totaling $17,784.20 in a nine-month span beginning in January, 2013, according to investigators. Police said 366 of those requests contained forged supervisor signatures.
Police also said several forms contained signatures of supervisors who were absent or on leave and that many of the DHS cases Hawkins-Worthey cited on the request forms were either closed, inactive or did not exist.
During the investigation, Hawkins-Worthey was reassigned to an administrative position within DHS and was told by one of her supervisors she was not allowed to work overtime. Police said Hawkins-Worthey ignored the order however and submitted three authorizations for overtime slips with forged supervisor signatures.
According to investigators, Hawkins-Worthey requested overtime for 76 cases between April and October of 2013. Of the 76 cases, 20 were determined to have been closed while eight didn’t exist at all in the database, police said. The fraudulent overtime during that time period totaled $6,372.34.
In all, police said Hawkins-Worthey’s theft and fraud cost DHS a total of $24,156.54.
“I have no words for the actions of this person,” said District Attorney Seth Williams. “Instead of helping some of the most vulnerable people in our city, she chose to use her position with DHS to line her own pockets. It’s sad and very, very wrong.”
Hawkins-Worthey surrendered to police Monday morning and was processed at Central Detectives.
While a Mercer County community remains on edge following the death of 4-year-old Eli Waller, concerns over enterovirus D-68 didn’t stop his classmates from returning to school.
The student attendance rate at Yardville Elementary School in Trenton was at 93% Monday. It was the first day of classes since officials announced Waller, who attended afternoon Pre-K classes at the school, died from EV-D68.
“It scares me,” said Tabitha Vassey. “Could I wake up to a child who’s not going to be with us in the morning? Because it happened to Eli so fast.”
Vassey’s 5-year-old son, who she did not want to name, was hospitalized after he showed symptoms of EV-D68 last month. Vassey’s son attends morning Pre-K sessions at Yardville.
“I got a call Sunday morning the 21st saying he was having trouble breathing and they were taking him to the ER,” Vassey said.
Vassey’s son is now recovering at home after being released from the hospital. She is still awaiting test results from the CDC to confirm whether or not he was infected by EV-D68.
“His breathing and oxygen were down to 80,” Vassey said “He was on an oxygen max, steroids and nebulizer treatments.”
Over the weekend, custodial staff worked overtime disinfecting all surfaces at Yardville as well as other schools in the Hamilton Township School district with a bleach alternative approved by the State Department of Health.
Victoria Detz, a parent of a student at Langtree Elementary School in Trenton, told NBC10 she was concerned about sanitary conditions at her son’s school before enterovirus news even surfaced.
“It’s not just one school obviously that’s not up to par in cleanliness,” Detz said. “It’s more than one school.”
Detz sent NBC10 a photo of a toilet that she claimed was taken last June inside a bathroom at Langtree.
“The bathrooms were so disgusting,” she said. “They were like a New York city subway.
The health department told NBC10 they would investigate the photo.
Detz removed her son from the school and doesn’t plan on having him return until she receives reassurance that all bathrooms and classrooms district-wide are disinfected.
“You’re not going to go around with a white glove in Kindergarten,” Detz said. “But there shouldn’t be actual dirt on the floor.”
Officials reassured parents that they’re staying on top of the situation and urged them not to panic.
“We want to assure parents that we are monitoring the situation and that we’re working closely with the schools as well as the local health departments to ensure that appropriate infection control procedures are followed,” said NJ DOH State Epidemiologist Dr. Tina Tan.
Hamilton Township PTA Vice President Lisa Schultz told NBC10 she’s confident enough is being done to keep schools clean and students safe.
“I’m pretty confident because when it comes right down to it, these are children’s lives, and I don’t think they take those things lightly,” Schultz said.
The CDC reported a total of nine cases of EV-D68 in Camden, Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Essex, Passaic and Sussex counties. Officials told NBC10 they are not prepared to release any specific information regarding where the other children live due to privacy laws.
The enterovirus germ is not new; most people who catch the virus experience only a runny nose and low-grade fever. It was first identified in 1962 and has caused clusters of illness before.
This year, the virus has gotten more attention because it has been linked to hundreds of severe illnesses. Beginning last month, hospitals in Kansas City, Missouri, and Chicago have received a flood of children with trouble breathing.
To avoid getting the virus, health officials recommend:
Friends, family and the Philadelphia community are mourning legendary sports analyst and commentator Bill Campbell.
Campbell died Monday night at the age of 91.
Born in Atlantic City in 1923, Campbell began his career in broadcasting in 1940 as a spot and general announcer at WFPG Radio in Atlantic City. In the following two years he worked as a general radio announcer and covered minor league baseball for WGAL in Lancaster and as a spot and general announcer for WIP Radio in Philadelphia.
After serving a tour of duty in the Armed Services, Campbell became Sports Director of WCAU Radio in 1946 which later became NBC10. As Sports Director, Campbell produced and broadcasted a daily sports program and was in charge of scheduling and negotiating college and professional games.
Campbell would eventually become an icon in Philadelphia sports as the play-by-play commentator for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1956 to 1964. He also served as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Phillies from 1962 to 1971 as well as the Philadelphia Warriors and 76ers in basketball.
Campbell also did play-by-play of basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1962. Chamberlain’s game for Philadelphia, who were named the Warriors at the time, is still an NBA record.
Campbell was named Director of Broadcasting for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972, a position he held until 1981.
Campbell is perhaps best remembered by Philly sports fans for his radio call of the Eagles’ 1960 NFL Championship win over the Green Bay Packers.
“The game’s over,” Campbell screamed in the famous call. “The game’s over! The Eagles are the champions of the world! LISTEN!”
Campbell received several awards during his prolific career. He was named Broadcaster of the Year by the National Sports Broadcasters Association in 1961, 1962 and 1963. He also received the Philadelphia Sportswriters Award for outstanding service in 1989 and was a member of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Sports Halls of Fame.
Campbell also received the Curt Gowdy Broadcaster Award at the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Merrill Reese, who has been the radio play-by-play commentator for the Eagles since 1977, called Campbell the “greatest in the history of Philadelphia broadcasting.”
“He did every sport in Philadelphia – the Warriors and the Sixers in basketball, the Phillies, the Eagles of course, college basketball, the Penn Relays, hosted talk shows – and he was great. The Dean,” Reese said. “He was also the single greatest interviewer I ever heard.”
Eagles president Don Smolenski called Campbell a “legend.”
"Being the voice of the Phillies, 76ers, and Eagles throughout his career, it was clear that Philadelphia sports were in his blood,” Smolenski said. “His call of the 1960 NFL Championship and of Wilt Chamberlain’s historic 100-point game will never be forgotten. On behalf of the Philadelphia Eagles and our legion of fans, we send our condolences to the Campbell family on their loss."
Firefighters rescued several residents from a Delaware County apartment building after a small blaze filled the property with smoke late Monday night.
The fire broke out around 10:30 p.m. in the Glen Croft Club Apartment building on the 100 block of Folcroft Avenue in Folcroft, Pa., according to officials.
Crews contained the blaze to the single unit, but smoke billowed through the remaining units, forcing 96 people from their homes, according to reports.
Authorities said they transported three residents to a local hospital for smoke inhalation.
Twenty of those displaced residents stayed at the Folcroft Fire House overnight and received assistance from the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
The residents will be allowed back into their homes sometime Tuesday morning, officials said.
No word yet on the cause of the fire, but an investigation is underway.
Sayreville High School has canceled the rest of its football season amid allegations of hazing, officials say.
The announcement was made at a private meeting held for the team's parents Monday night.
"This is a very sad day here in Sayreville," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard Labbe said in a statement to reporters after the meeting.
Labbe said there was enough evidence to substantiate the allegations of harassment and intimidation at the center of a separate criminal investigation by police and prosecutors.
The incidents took place "on a pervasive level, on a widescale level, and at a level in which the players knew, tolerated and in general accepted," he said.
Labbe said canceling the season sends a clear message that the behavior won't be tolerated. No players have been suspended.
"This district and this board of education is making a unified stance to say 'no.' No to bullying," said Labbe.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor said Friday it was investigating a report that seniors on the team hazed freshmen in various forms, some of which could be considered sexual assault.
Sayreville High School's football team, one of New Jersey's top programs, already forfeited multiple games amid the hazing accusations, including last Thursday night's big showdown with South Brunswick.
Parents, mostly of football players, met with school officials Friday and expressed frustration that many players they felt were innocent were being unfairly punished.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating assistant football coach Charlie Garcia, 38, after they found more than two boxes of steroids and more than a dozen syringes during a traffic stop late last month.
-- Brynn Gingras contributed to this report.
A man is recovering at Cooper University Medical Center after a gunman shot him multiple times in Camden late Monday night.
The shooting occurred on the 1500 block of Pershing Street arond 10:30 p.m., according to police.
The victim, in his 60s, was taken to Cooper in critical condition, authorities said.
There is no known suspects and police are unsure of a motive. An investigation is underway.
A crash involving a dump truck and a sports utility vehicle left one person in the hospital and SEPTA trolleys temporarily detoured.
The wreck happened around 1 p.m. at Girard and Ridge Avenues in the Philadelphia's Francisville section.
Witnesses told NBC10 that the SUV appeared to rush through a turning light when the truck slammed into it.
Philadelphia Police said medics transported one person from the scene with undisclosed injuries.
The crash left SEPTA having to end Route 15 trolley service at 26th Street. Service resumed after about 30 minutes.
No word yet on how long the crash will take to clear.
A man died after falling about 30-feet from a Montgomery County home Tuesday.
Police responded to reports of the deadly fall on the 700 block of Church Street in Royersford, Pa. around 10 a.m.
Royersford Police responded to the scene to find the 45-year-old man on the ground. He died at the scene.
Investigators said the death appeared to be a suicide.
SUICIDE PREVENTION: If you know someone who needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A Philadelphia woman thought she got her stolen Pomeranian back just hours after police released surveillance video that appeared to show the pup's captors taking it for a walk months ago.
But, a chip in the dog revealed that it wasn't Nia Kora's beloved Pomeranian Chispa.
Investigators said two men captured on surveillance camera walking away from a home on 1900 block of West Girard Avenue in the Francisville section of the city will face charges once they are caught.
Police said the video shows the men after they stole Kora's 4-year-old, a.k.a. Chi-Chi; a flat screen television and an xBox 360 gaming system from the home around midnight on July 30, police said.
"They broke in they stole my dog," said Kora.
The suspects were caught on video walking to the victim's home empty-handed as well as walking away from the home. The video shows one of the men carrying the TV, the other walking Chispa on a leash.
Police asked for the public's help identifying the suspects.
In the meantime a woman recognized the dog as the pet she had cared for since this summer. The woman alerted police and officers set up a reunion with Chi-Chi and Kora.
Kora said the dog looked similar but appeared to have gained some weight. Police later said that the dog was actually another missing Pomeranian.
No word on the suspects' identities. If you recognize the men in this video, please contact police immediately.
Four men and three juveniles face charges in connection with the deadly shooting of a 14-year-old aspiring basketball player who was killed on her way to a New Jersey restaurant last month, the prosecutor's office announced Tuesday.
Six of the suspects are in custody and a 22-year-old man, Baseem Williams, remains wanted, officials said. The charges come nearly a month after Nazerah Bugg was fatally shot Sept. 20 near Clinton and Main streets in Paterson. A 15-year-old girl who was also shot is still recovering, prosecutors said.
Evidence from the scene indicates two shooters using different guns fired at least a dozen shots toward the group Bugg was with, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. Neither Bugg nor the 15-year-old girl who was wounded were believed to be the intended targets, Valdes said.
The shooting is thought to have been in retaliation to an earlier shooting several blocks away, in which the car of a 17-year-old was shot at, Valdes said. The same 17-year-old is one of the suspects charged in Bugg's death. Two 16-year-olds were charged, along with a 20-year-old, a 22-year-old and a 19-year-old.
The four adults face murder charges, among other crimes. The prosecutor said she hoped to try the juveniles as adults, in which case they too would be charged with murder.
Friends and family have said Bugg, a freshman at International High School who was set to play varsity basketball at Kennedy High School, had the potential to play professionally one day.
They described her as a good girl who was always smiling.
A college freshman frustrated with bullying threatened to shoot up his Delaware County university like it was Columbine High School, according to authorities.
Chester Police joined county investigators to arrest a 20-year-old New Jersey man on Widener University's campus Tuesday after a threatening message posted anonymously to Yik Yak emerged.
"I will attempt to shoot everyone who I (expletive) hate and who bully me every single day!!!!" read the message posted around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The threat went on to mention Columbine -- the Colorado school where two students went on a shooting rampage that left 15 dead and two dozen injured.
The message was deleted after a short while but no before fellow students saw it and reported it to the university, which in turn reported it to Chester Police Tuesday, said authorities.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said his office tracked an IP address that led them to the student, identified as Luis Vela of Lodi, New Jersey. Within 90 minutes police tracked down Vela.
"That posting was very serious, it was that the individual was going to take a gun and shoot up the students at Widener University," said Whelan.
Whelan commended the university and police for quickly identifying the suspect and making the arrest as Vela -- criminal justice major -- left a classroom. Vela had no guns on him or in his dorm room at the time, said police.
In a statement posted to the university's website, there was never an actual threat to students on the Chester, Pennsylvania campus.
"The university takes these threats seriously and acts accordingly," said the statement. "Anyone posting such threats will face criminal charges."
Police seized the Vela's laptop even though the message was posted via cellphone. Authorities charged Vela with making terroristic threats, simple assault and harassment.
