Four men were arrested after they allegedly smuggled thousands of grams of cocaine inside Xbox video game consoles.
Felix Josue Rodriguez-Pabon, 22, Nelson Audelin Martinez, 26, Wilson Michael Herrera, 20, and Yefries Guillen Herrera, 22, all of Reading, Pa., are charged with delivery of a controlled substance and other related offenses.
On Wednesday, officials with Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and the Border Protection Office of Philadelphia contacted the Berks County Drug Task Force about kilos of cocaine being smuggled from the Dominican Republic to various addresses in Berks County.
According to investigators, one of the shipments described as “Video Game Xbox 360 Use” was sent to a home on the 500 block of Spruce Street in Reading, Pennsylvania. The shipment was an Xbox video game console containing around 1100 grams of cocaine with a potential street value of over $100,000, police said.
On Friday, around 2 p.m., investigators spotted several men on the 500 block of Spruce who they believed were waiting for the package. The suspects were identified as Rodriguez-Pabon, Martinez, Wilson Herrera and Yefries Herrera.
An undercover federal agent then delivered the package to Yefries Herrera around 3:30 p.m., according to police. Herrera allegedly accepted and signed for the parcel before going back inside the home.
Ten minutes later, Herrera allegedly left the home, carrying a bag containing the Xbox game console and walked over to another house on Spruce Street where he met the three other suspects. He then placed the bag into the open trunk of a black Acura and closed it, according to investigators. Officials followed the vehicle as it left the area.
The car arrived at a home on the 1600 block of Hancock Boulevard in Cumru Township, Pennsylvania. Once police arrived, three of the suspects allegedly fled the home on foot. Officials eventually apprehended them and took them into custody, according to police.
After obtaining search warrants for the homes on Spruce Street and Hancock Boulevard, police obtained the following items, according to investigators:
Investigators also said they found Xbox gaming consoles on the kitchen table inside the Cumru Township home which had been disassembled.
The four suspects were processed and arraigned at the Berks County Sheriff’s Department Central Processing Center Saturday.
Officials continue to investigate.
Police are searching for a young boy who they suspect caused a three-way car crash in North Philadelphia and then fled the scene.
Witnesses told police they spotted a young boy driving a white sedan when it struck another car at the intersection of 19th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue Saturday night. The boy then crashed into another car parked on the street and nearly slammed into a nearby apartment building.
Chase Senior told NBC10 he heard the crash and witnessed the aftermath.
“The kid driving the car got out of the driver’s door,” Senior said. “He had to have been between 10 and 13 years old. Then there were some other people who got out of the passenger side door and the backseat. I came down and realized the maroon car that was hit that was parked here was my roommate’s.”
The boy, who police believe was between the ages of 13 and 14, as well as at least two passengers fled the scene, according to investigators. A woman in a silver car suffered minor injuries in the accident and was taken to the hospital.
Senior also said he later spotted former NFL player Marvin Harrison arrive at the scene. Police told NBC10 Harrison had nothing to do with the accident but owned the Tow Truck Company which responded to the crash.
Officials are still searching for the boy and the passengers. If you have any information on their whereabouts, please call Philadelphia Police.
Three people were arrested Friday on suspicion of killing a man and then trying to cover up the crime by reporting to police that the victim tried to kidnap them, officials said.
The Gardena Police Department said they received a call of a kidnapping in the 13100 block of Daleside Avenue. Police say the caller explained that a man had tried to kidnap them, but they were able to resist and knock the alleged kidnapper unconscious.
Responding officers say they found the alleged kidnapper in a truck, unconscious and unresponsive. Fire department officials were called in to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead shortly after, police said.
After further investigation, police arrested the three people who reported the alleged kidnapping on suspicion of homicide.
They have been identified as 36-year-old Jennifer Nichols, 23-year-old Alejandro Terrazas and a 15-year-old juvenile who was not named because they are a minor. They are all from Hawthorne.
The victim was identified as Bradley Hayes, 34, of Hesperia.
Police think the three likely made up the kidnapping story. They were all acquaintances, said Gardena Police spokesman Steve Prendergast.
A health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas who provided care for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola patient who died there earlier this week, has tested positive for the virus, the CDC confirmed Sunday afternoon.
"Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed test results reported late last night by the Texas Department of State Health Services' public health laboratory showing that a healthcare worker at Texas Presbyterian Hospital is positive for Ebola," the CDC said in a news release.
The positive test is apparently as a result of a “breach of protocol," the director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier Sunday.
"At some point there was a breach in protocol and that breach in protocol resulted in this infection," said Dr. Tom Frieden.
The woman tested positive for Ebola in a preliminary test at the state public health laboratory in Austin. Another test to confirm the diagnosis was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
"The level of her symptoms, and indications from the test itself suggest the level of the virus that she had is low," Frieden said. The female caregiver had extensive contact with Duncan before he died Wednesday from Ebola, he said.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Sunday the unidentified health care worker is a "heroic" person who "was proud to provide care to Mr. Duncan."
The worker is in isolation and in stable condition. Jenkins said her family has requested privacy because they are "going through a great ordeal."
"While this is bad news, this is not news that should bring about panic," Jenkins said.
The state health department said the worker reported a low grade fever Friday night and was isolated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and the preliminary test result was received late Saturday.
"The entire process from patient's self-monitoring to the admission into isolation took less than 90 minutes," Dr. Daniel Varga with Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas said at a news conference Sunday morning.
Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas said a close contact of the health care worker has already proactively been put into isolation at the hospital. The 24-bed Intensive Care Unit at the hospital is being used as an isolation unit. Eighteen other people who had lesser degree of contact with the worker were being monitored.
Mayor Mike Rawlings said the health care worker lives in an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Marquita Avenue in Dallas.
Rawlings said Dallas-Fire Rescue crews have cleaned and decontaminated open areas of the complex.
A reverse 911 call went out at 7:15 a.m. Sunday to alert neighbors. Rawlings also said materials about the virus were placed on peoples' doors in the area.
Rawlings said there is a pet inside the apartment and that they "have a plan to take care of the pet."
The car the health care worker drove to the hospital has been decontaminated and secured. Rawlings said everything the new patient touched has been decontaminated to ensure everyone's safety.
Texas Department of State Health Services said "contact tracing" has begun. Health officials interviewed the health care worker and are identifying any other contacts or potential exposures.
Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas said the health care worker was involved in Duncan's care on his second visit to the hospital. Duncan, from Liberia, was the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. He died from the virus on Oct. 8.
The hospital said the worker followed all Centers for Disease Control protocols in caring for Duncan, including wearing gloves, gown, mask and shield. Frieden said at a later press conference that the worker has not been able to identify a specific breach of protocol that might have led to her being infected.
Health care workers are among the original 48 people identified as having had contact with Duncan before he was admitted on Sept. 28. The original contacts have a week to go on their 21-day monitoring period and will be monitored twice daily, Jenkins said. Nineteen people are in charge of the monitoring, Jenkins said he asked for additional CDC help at midnight and workers had arrived in Dallas. None of the rest of the monitored people have shown symptoms of Ebola.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of a sick person or exposure to contaminated objects such as needles. People are not contagious before symptoms such as fever develop.
"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," said Texas health commissioner Dr. David Lakey. "We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread."
Varga said the emergency department at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas is on diversion, meaning ambulances will not bring new patients to the ER, but the hospital will continue to care for the patients at the hospital.
Frieden said four things are being done now -- caring for the health care worker, assessing her contacts from the moment she showed symptoms, evaluating other health care workers for exposure, and investigating how it happened to make sure it doesn't happen in the future.
The Dallas Independent School District confirmed the health care worker has no children attending DISD schools, so the district is not affected.
A community prayer vigil has been set for 6 p.m. Monday at Munger Place Church, located at 5200 Bryan Street in Dallas.
Four women got into a physical fight and one ended up getting stabbed.
The incident occurred in the 4500 block of N. Uber Street at about 1 a.m. Sunday.
A 25-year-old female garnished a screwdriver during a fight with a 28-year-old woman. The 25-year-old female took the woman's purse and fled the scene.
The 28-year-old's friend ran after the 25-year-old female trying to get the purse back.
Another woman who is 27-years-old and a friend of the women with the screwdriver began to fight and stabbed another 25-year-old woman with a sharp object, according to police.
Offender number one is 5' 8'' tall and wore a pink shirt and gray tights. Offender number two is 5'7'' and wore a gray and black sweatshirt and black pants.
Philadelphia Police is seeking the public's help in identifying the two offenders.
A quick run to Home Depot to buy a spare set of keys has turned into days of heartache for JJ Pierce, one of Philadelphia's newest residents.
Pierce packed up her best friend -- Louie, a rescue dog -- into her 2001 red Honda CRV and drove to the Home Depot on Columbus Boulevard about 8 p.m. Thursday.
"I brought my dog because he loves riding in the back of the car. I knew it would be a quick trip," said Pierce, who had to catch a flight Friday morning to attend a family reunion.
Pierce needed a spare set of house keys for her dog sitter. She locked the car and left Louie.
As she walked outside from the Home Depot, she noticed immediately that her car and Louie were gone. Pierce says she was inside no more than 7 minutes.
She called the Philadelphia Police and rode around for an hour and a half looking for her car and the culprit. Philadelphia Police confirm a report was taken.
Pierce is a native of Colorado and recently moved to Philadelphia from Washington, D.C. Her car is a red 2001 Honda CRV with Washington, D.C. tags EE 5035.
Louie is a black lab mix with a white patch on his chest.
Due to the theft, Pierce canceled her flight and did not go to the family reunion. Having to do so she says was an "extra blow."
Pierce created fliers this weekend and began distributing them and posting to social media in the hopes that someone has seen Louie.
There was a reported Louie sighting on Saturday at Cedar and Allegheny Avenues. After a long search, the dog was not found.
"Louie loves people once he knows them and can trust them. He’s the group dog for all my friends," said Pierce. "He's come a long way since I took him in last year when he was scared to death of everything."
Anyone with information is asked to call 970-203-4707. A reward is offered.
Drivers will be happy to hear that gas prices have dropped to new 2014 lows and will continue to do so, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. On Friday, the national average for unleaded gasoline dropped to $3.24 a gallon, the lowest average since Dec. 2014.
This current dip is being attributed to supply outrunning demand (which has seen a drop post-Labor Day) while markets remain virtually unaffected by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Cost per barrel of crude oil went from $90.34 on Monday to $85.82 on Friday, the first time prices have gone below the $90 mark in 17 months.
The AAA projects that prices may even fall below the $3 mark before the end of the year if low demand and crude oil prices remain consistent. The absence of natural disasters to interrupt production and refining also helps. The Atlantic is also facing its gentlest hurricane season since 1983, avoiding the disastrous effects felt from storms like Katrina and Sandy.
Inventories of crude oil and gasoline have skyrocketed into the hundred millions according to a weekly report by the Energy Information Administration. With falling prices and favorable weather conditions, demand for gasoline will increase while motorists take advantage of the lowest prices since 2010.
The Eagles seek a 5-1 start to the season when they host the Giants Sunday night at the Linc. You can watch the pre-game show and the big matchup tonight on NBC10 starting at 7 p.m. But before the big game, check out our all access content and preview articles.
An Atlantic City man who served a 30-year murder sentence is accused of killing his mother only two days after he was released from prison.
On Sunday around 6:30 a.m., police were called to a home on the 1800 block of McKinley Avenue in Atlantic City. When they arrived they found the body of 64-year-old Gwendolyn Pratt. Pratt’s son, 46-year-old Steven Pratt, was found at the home and detained by police.
After an autopsy, Gwendolyn Pratt’s death was ruled a homicide. According to investigators, she died from massive blunt head injuries.
After further investigation, Steven Pratt was charged with his mother’s murder.
Pratt had been released from New Jersey State Prison Friday, only two days before his mother’s death. He had completed a 30-year prison sentence for a 1984 murder.
Pratt was lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility in lieu of $1 million cash bail.
Friends and family will gather in South Jersey Monday to mourn legendary sports analyst and commentator Bill Campbell. Campbell died October 6 at the age of 91.
A viewing was held for Campbell Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Blake-Doyle Funeral Home on Collings Avenue in Collingswood, New Jersey. A funeral mass will be held for Campbell Monday at 11 a.m. at Christ the King Parish on the 200 block of Windsor Avenue in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
Campbell's funeral mass will be streamed live on the Christ the King website.
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."
Donations in Campbell's memory can be made to St. Joseph's University, Athletics Communications, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. 19131.
Over a dozen more catholic churches in the Philadelphia Archdiocese are under review for a potential closure or merger. The Archdiocese announced Sunday the continuation of its Parish Area Pastoral Planning Initiative with 14 parishes in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties entering the process.
The following churches will be reviewed for a potential merger or closure:
Delaware County
Montgomery County
Philadelphia
The Archdiocese first announced the Initiative in the Fall of 2010 and called on all parishes to determine if they had the resources necessary to “accomplish their roles in the mission of Christ while remaining sustainable and vibrant faith communities.”
A final decision on the 14 parishes will be announced in the Spring of next year.
There are currently 219 total parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Before the Initiative there were 266 parishes.
You can find more information on the Initiative on the official Archdiocese website.
