A day after fire destroyed part of a popular South Jersey farmers market and flea market, the Columbus Farmers Market announced it will partially open for business as normal Thursday.

The outdoor flea market section of the Burlington County staple that sits along Route 206 near Columbus Jobstown Road will open as normal at 6:30 a.m. Thursday and remain open every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the end of the year.

Flames broke out shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday at the historic market and the blaze in Building 4 quickly spread to four alarms. Mostly volunteer firefighters battled the windswept fire that sent thick smoke out onto U.S. Route 206.

The smoke and flames caused crews to close nearby roads. As SkyForce10 hovered overhead you could see heavy flames pouring from the large red barn — a retail area — at the market, which claims to be the “Delaware Valley’s oldest and largest flea market.”

"The wind is very heavy right now and it's blowing strongly from west to east so the smoke from the building is blowing horizontally across the parking lot to Route 206," said Springfield Township Mayor Denis McDaniel in the minutes after the fire began.

No one was hurt and the market wasn’t open at the time of the blaze.

"I've been going to this market since I was a small boy in the '50s," said McDaniel. "It's very important, it's the largest shopping are in the whole township — it's one of the largest in this part of the county."

The facility includes indoor pavilion stores, an all-weather outdoor flea market, a self-storage facility and antique mall.

McDaniel told the Burlington County Times that the market hoped to reopen indoor retail areas in time for Thanksgiving, one of the busiest days of the year at the complex.

The indoor market is normally opened Thursday through Sunday.

The farmers market began as a cattle and horse auction in 1919 and 10 years later moved onto a 30-acre site in Columbus, according to the market's website.

Fire devastated the market twice before — in 1968 and 1972, according to the market. In 1988, Columbus Farmers Market, LLC purchased the market and expanded the grounds to 200 acres.

Even though the year-round outdoor market will open Thursday, cold temperatures could keep many sellers away. Retailers that normally operate inside could open outside if they want.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Wednesday but investigators said it didn't appear suspicious or intentionally set.

Prosecutors upgraded charges against a driver accused of striking a New Jersey pedestrian and driving with the man lodged in the vehicle's windshield.

Ocean County prosecutors say 33-year-old Marcos Ortega is now charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The new charges were filed Wednesday, two days after 61-year-old Kenneth Moeller, of Lanoka Harbor, died from injuries he suffered in the Nov. 10 accident in Ocean Township.

Ortega has been jailed since the accident occurred. His bail now stands at $250,000 cash, and it's not known if he's retained an attorney.

Investigators say Ortega struck Moeller on a highway shoulder and then continued driving for about 1 1/2 miles before he was stopped by police.

An ambulance collided with a sport utility vehicle along a Chester County road Wednesday afternoon.

The crash caused crews to block the intersection of Main Street and Nutt Road in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania shortly before 4 p.m.

There appeared to be no injuries from the crash, said Chester County dispatchers.

The force of the crash caused the SUV to wind up perpendicular to the street.

A 5-year-old girl contracted a sexually transmitted disease after being raped by a teenage family member earlier this year, authorities in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania said.

The 18-year-old suspect, whom NBC10 is not naming to protect the victim's identity, is charged with rape of a child, indecent sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses for the assault that took place a few months ago, police said.

"I guess the best way for me to describe this guy is an animal," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

Police said they learned about the rape on Tuesday when the girl's mother took the 5-year-old to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Doctors called authorities after test results came back showing the girl had chlamydia, Chitwood said.

At first, the mother was uncooperative, Chitwood said, but then she told detectives she was aware her daughter had been sexually assaulted in the 18-year-old's bedroom.

"The girl identifies the family member and says that 'he stuck his pee pee into my private parts,'" Chitwood said. "The little girl, 5 years old, anatomically knew what private parts meant: her vagina and buttocks."

The suspect, who is a native of Ecuador, has denied the rape, but admitted to having the STD, Chitwood said.

The teen is being held in the county prison on $250,000 bail. An attorney was not immediately listed for the suspect.

The girl's mother has not been charged in the case. Chitwood said the investigation is ongoing.

A 2-alarm fire caused major damage at a Chester County mansion and sent one person to the hospital Wednesday.

The fire broke out at a three-story home on the 200 block of North Union Street in Kennett Square around 4 p.m.

It took firefighters three hours to bring the flames under control. Residents inside the home were able to evacuate. One person suffered minor smoke inhalation however and was sent to the hospital. No one else was hurt.

The fire caused extensive damage to the mansion's roof and top floor. Officials continue to investigate the cause.

A man who was caught on surveillance video stealing a package of toys from a Delaware County home while carrying his 1-year-old daughter was arrested, according to police.

Evan Brown, 20, is charged with theft and receiving stolen property.

Surveillance video released Tuesday shows a man, identified by police as Brown, stealing a package from the front of an Upper Darby home on Nov. 10. 

In the video, a UPS driver leaves the package, which came from the Caribbean, in front of a house on the 7000 block of Greenwood Avenue.

Then, a man in a red jacket starts casing the house from a neighboring porch before eventually walking over while carrying a young girl.

“With the baby in his arms, he looks around, reaches down and then picks up the box then walks off with the little baby and the box in his hands,” said Upper Darby Township Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

The box contained 20 Shark Attack toys intended to be sold online that were valued around $130, according to Chitwood.

“It kind of offends me that you would walk around with in baby in your hand, kind of as a cover, as you do your stealing and your robbing," Chitwood said.

After the video was released and made the rounds through the media, a community member recognized Brown and called police, Chitwood said.

Brown was arrested at his home on the 7000 block of Rabourne Road, just around the corner from where he allegedly stole the toys.

"He shaved his head after he saw all the publicity I guess," Chitwood said.

Police recovered 11 boxes of the toys from his home, according to Chitwood. Chitwood also said the girl in the surveillance video is Brown's 1-year-old daughter, who was at the home at the time of his arrest.

Brown is currently being processed and will be arraigned Wednesday night.

A man forced a 12-year-old girl into his car at gunpoint then sexually assaulted the girl, according to Philadelphia Police.

The assault occurred as the girl walked along the 3700 block of Lawrence Street in North Philadelphia around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

After forcing the girl into his four-door burgundy sedan with tinted windows, the man drove her to the 4600 block of N 7th Street — more than one mile away — where the assault occurred, said investigators.

After the assault, the man drove the girl back to the area where he took her from. Investigators didn't reveal anything about injuries suffered by the girl.

Police described the man as being in his 30s, with a short beard and ran sweater-jacket.

A Villanova University student is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Wisconsin during the summer.

On July 25, a woman reported to Radnor Police she had been sexually assaulted on July 23 on the 900 block of West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee. The Radnor Police Detective Bureau then contacted and assisted the Milwaukee Police Department in the investigation.

During the investigation, Milwaukee Police identified 20-year-old Vincent Paola, a Villanova student originally from Berlin, New Jersey, as the suspect.

An arrest warrant for Paola was issued Saturday. On Wednesday Paola was arrested and charged with sexual assault. He is currently awaiting arraignment for extradition to Milwaukee.

This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.

Three Delaware men are accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

Steven McAvaney, 22 of Middletown, Paul Coco, 26, of Newark and Sean Hargett, 22, of Milford, were arrested and charged with rape and other offenses.

A 15-year-old girl had sex with the three men several times over the past year at different times and at different locations in New Castle County, according to police.

New Castle County Police detectives as well as Delaware Division of Family Services began an investigation Oct. 16. They learned the girl had met and communicated with the men through several social media websites including Facebook, Instagram, KIK and Meetme, police said.

McAvaney is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, five counts of rape 4th degree and five counts of possession of child pornography. He was arraigned and released after posting $25,000 secured bail.

Coco is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child and five counts of rape 4th degree. He was arraigned and released after posting $50,000 secured bail.

Hargett is charged with rape 4th degree and five counts of child pornography. He was arraigned and committed to the Howard Young Correctional Institution in lieu of $25,000 secured bail.
 

A recalled air conditioner unit is the cause of a fire at a Montgomery County YMCA, according to investigators.

The fire broke out inside the child care facility at Abington YMCA at 1073 Old York Road just before 4 a.m. back on Nov. 11.

The blaze was quickly placed under control and no one was hurt.

"There's not a lot of visible damage externally, the damage is inside," said YMCA spokesperson Omoiye Kinney. "The fire broke out in one of the rooms in our child care center, so it was contained to that one room." 

On Wednesday officials released surveillance images of the fire. They also announced the blaze was caused by a GE Zoneline packaged thermal air-conditioner that burst into flames inside the building. The product was recalled in June, 2011.

"We found this unit specfically to be included on a recall list," said Abington Township Assistant Fire Marshal John Rohrer.

Thousands of the units were sold directly to consumers and installers. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission(CPSC), the units are commonly installed in commercial properties and arpatments but can also be sold for home use or in hotels.

Workers at the Abington YMCA had no idea the units inside the building were recalled, according to officials, sparking fears that some homeowners may also be unaware.

"Because the units that were installed were purchased by an installer or contractor whose hired when they do renovations in any building or home, that information may not be related to you directly as a homeowner or business owner," Rohrer said. "That may be relayed to the contractor who installed the unit."

The Abington YMCA disconnected all similiar units in the building and are waiting until they are all checked out to make sure they're safe. While no one was injured in the fire, investigators told NBC10 it still serves as an important lesson for homeowners to always be aware of the type of products inside their home.

"You should listen when safety information is put out there because it could protect your kids," Rohrer said.

Check the CPSC website to make sure you don't have any recalled items inside your home.

The company that won a bankruptcy auction to buy the shuttered Revel Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey has terminated the deal, NBC10 has confirmed.

Brookfield US Holdings, LLC. spokesman Andrew Willis said Wednesday that the $110 million purchase is no longer moving forward.

The Toronto-based company, which operates the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas and Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, had planned to reopen Revel as a casino.

Sources close to the situation tell NBC10's Ted Greenberg that the deal fell apart after ACR bondholders and South Jersey Industries refused to alter Revel's utility bill payment structure.

The resort gets its power from a power plant, which is built adjacent to the casino and chills and heats water and provides electricity, that was built specifically for Revel's use. The power bill is $3 million a month or $36 million a year. The new owners wanted to change that price but the utility refused to, sources said.

Brookfield won the right to buy the $2 billion resort during a bankruptcy auction in October. The company outbid Florida-based real estate developer Glenn Straub who offered $95.4 million for the troubled casino.

Revel selected Straub's company, Polo North Country Club Inc. as the backup buyer.

Straub told NBC10 that he learned the deal had gone south a day and a half ago. The developer said he's willing to buy the resort so long as the price doesn't get too high and that the court proceedings are fair.

“We’re obviously interested," Straub said. “We just want to get the damn town in a position where it can recover.”

As for what might become of property, Straub had previously floated a plan to turn the 47 story hotel and casino complex into a university that would ideally serve "white and over 21" students. Straub had said his comments were meant to reflect someone who does not have financial obligations.

On Wednesday, Straub said his team had several ideas for what to do with Revel, but would not elaborate further. He did say that the city, like many others relies too much on gambling, and that he is interested in helping those who lost their jobs get back to work.

“That place is not only made for gambling. It’s made for much else," he said.

Brookfield is required to file court statements explaining why the deal had been terminated. That should come within the next week or so.

Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian released a statement Wednesday night on the terminated deal:

“I am sorry to hear that the Brookfield transaction was not completed.  Although Brookfield would have been a good fit for Atlantic City, we will continue to attract new investors.  Atlantic City is a resilient city, and better days are still ahead of us.  In fact, every investor should know that in just the past two days, we welcomed over 17,000 people for the 99th Annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference.  Everyone that I talked to had a great time, and reaffirmed to me just how much they love coming to Atlantic City every year.  Without a doubt, Atlantic City is still the place to be in New Jersey.”

A family-owned restaurant hasn't curried favor with convenience store giant Wawa.

Pennsylvania-based Wawa accuses a Floridian restaurant owner of copyright infringement because of the name of his Kissimmee Indian food eatery.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Florida, on behalf of Wawa — which is actually based out of New Jersey, according to the suit — and its Delaware-based corporate wing, Wild Goose Holding Company, alleges that Rakeshkumar “Yogi” Patel violated copyrights when he opened Wawa Curry Taste of India in Sept. 2013.

The suit alleges that Wawa Curry opened after Wawa had moved into the Florida market two years ago. Currently, two Wawa stores are located within three miles of downtown Kissimmee.

“Defendant’s use of Wawa Curry… is likely to cause the public to believe, contrary to fact, that defendant’s services offered under the name and mark Wawa Curry are sponsored licensed and/or otherwise approved by, or is in some way connected or affiliated with plaintiffs," the lawsuit states. 

The 16-page suit mentions Wawa history dating back more than 100 years to its Chester County dairy roots and its opening as a convenience store in 1964. It then mentions Wawa’s many trademarks for products ranging from iced tea to bottled water to coffee to ice cream to stores.

Wawa alleges that the Wawa Curry name diminishes the value of the Wawa name and did so without first asking Wawa to use the name. Wawa also wanted Patel to turn over ownership of WawaCurryTasteofIndia.com and all items bearing the name so that they could be destroyed.

Wawa gave Patel’s company, Shayona Krupa, LLC, 21 days to respond to the suit. He could also face some sort of financial compensation.

Patel told NBC10 that he doesn’t plan to fight the lawsuit and can't afford a lawyer.

“We can’t fight them. We are just a small restaurant, so we will have to change our name,” Patel told the Orlando Sentinel. “Saying wawa to someone in my language, Gujarati Indian, means good job, or congratulations. Since we are Wawa Curry, I thought that was enough difference.”

Wawa spokeswoman Lori Bruce said the company supports “the success of all businesses including Rakeshkumar Patel’s Indian restaurant.”

Wawa, a favorite quick-stop food and coffee shop in the Philadelphia region, needed to protect its name, according to Bruce.

“We have an obligation to protect consumers from any likelihood of confusion that may occur in the marketplace and to protect the brand name, goodwill and reputation that we’ve worked so hard to build over the past 50 years. In this case, we reached out to Mr. Patel on multiple occasions to resolve this matter privately and amicably. Regrettably, he did not respond, so we were left with no other choice but to take this course of action. We wish Mr. Patel nothing but success, just without our name included.”

No word on when Patel will relinquish the "Wawa" name.

An arrest was made in an attempted robbery of a Temple student, the same day police announced they were investigating six other armed robberies near the school's campus.

The student was on 18th Street between Diamond and Susquehanna streets Wednesday around 8:15 p.m. when he or she was approached by the suspect. The suspect fled the scene before he took anything and the student wasn't harmed, police said. The suspect was later arrested though police have not yet revealed his identity.

Earlier Wednesday, Temple Police sent an alert stating they’ve responded to six other robberies since Nov. 12. They also said at least two of the robberies, in which handguns were displayed, could be connected.

Aside from Wednesday's attempted robbery, the most recent incidents occurred on Nov. 12 and Sunday, police said. During the Nov. 12 incident, three Temple students were walking on the 1700 block of Diamond Street when they were approached by two unidentified men, at least one of them armed with a gun.

The suspects robbed the students, entered a dark sedan and then fled east on Broad Street, according to investigators.

The suspect who was holding a gun is described as a large man in his late 20’s with a beard standing 5-foot-11. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

On Sunday a man, who police said is not a student at Temple, was on the 1600 block of W. Berks Street when he was approached by three men, two of whom were armed with handguns. The men robbed the victim then fled north on 16th Street in a red sedan.

One suspect was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt while another was wearing orange running shoes, police said.

No one was injured during any of the robberies, according to investigators. 

Both Temple Police and the Philadelphia Police Department are investigating the robberies. If you have any information, please call Temple Police at 215-204-1234.
 

An Upper Darby clothing store manager unexpectedly received packages containing plenty of green. But they weren't Holiday-themed shirts.

“When I opened the boxes and looked inside there was no men’s clothing,” said the manager of City Blue, a store on 69th Street.  “It was marijuana.”

Police announced Wednesday $300,000 worth of high quality marijuana was delivered to the store.

The manager told NBC10 the first marijuana delivery arrived Tuesday morning. Sixty pounds of pot was packed inside a Fed-Ex box sent from California that was dropped off and signed for. Wednesday afternoon, another Fed-Ex box, this time with 30 pounds of marijuana, was dropped off at the store.

“Somebody is missing a lot of marijuana on the streets of our community,” said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

While the manager didn’t recognize the name on the packages, both had the addresses of his store. Chitwood believes the sender expected the boxes to be “intercepted” by their intended recipient outside the store.

“It’s the Christmas season,” Chitwood said. “More and more packages are being delivered so more and more and more attempts are being made to deliver whether it’s cocaine, heroin or marijuana.”

Officials told NBC10 the name on the packages is that of a real person living in Upper Darby though the person has never worked at the store. While they’re investigating the name, they also said it could be an attempt to throw officials off.

As for the 90 pounds of marijuana, officials said they plan to destroy it once the investigation is complete. Meanwhile the manager who found the huge shipment remains cautious.

“On my way home I’ll stick to the main streets,” he said. “The lighted streets.”

The heroic teen who rescued an officer from his burning cruiser in early November was featured on the Ellen show Wednesday.

Joe Chambers, a 17-year-old volunteer firefighter, saw the burning cruiser, sprinted into action and rescued the 30-year-old officer, Mark Kimsey, who was trapped in his car.

"He was all disoriented, he didn’t know where he was," said Chambers. I said ‘your car is on fire,’ and he was, like, just staring at me. And I was like ‘I’m gonna get you out.’”

" ... I tried to open the door and the door wasn’t opening, so I’m like, 'I’m going to have to get you out through the window,' and he just threw his arms out and I just dragged him out,” he continued.

Kimsey was responding to a priority call around 5:35 a.m. Nov. 8 when a truck collided with his cruiser in Gray’s Ferry. The cruiser burst into flames and the door was dented and jammed shut.

Chambers and his neighbor, Dante Johnson, rushed to the officer.

"I saw that it was a cop car," Chambers said. "Right then I just started sprinting and did what I had to do."

"He's my hero, by far," said Kimsey, who suffered head trauma and burns to his legs. "If he wouldn't have pulled me out of that car, I'd still be sitting in it."

Deputies have recovered the SUV they say last week ran down two New Jersey brothers, impaling one victim on a fence and forcing doctors to amputate the other's leg.

Investigators also questioned two people in connection with the gruesome hit-and-run on Friday in North Bergen that left Michael Viruet Jr., 20, and his 11-year-old brother Adrian with critical injuries, according to the Hudson County Sheriff's Office. 

The two brothers were walking out of a movie theater with their sister when they were hit and flung into the air by an SUV that had jumped the curb on Kennedy Boulevard at 31st Street, according to police and family. 

Michael Viruet Jr.'s leg was amputated after the hit, family members said. He was still sedated and on a ventilator on Thursday.

Adrian's arm was impaled on a spiked fence and he also sustained a serious head injury. Family members said Thursday the boy is breathing on his own, but doctors are worried about damage to the left side of his brain.

On Wednesday, investigators recovered the red Nissan Rogue they think hit the brothers. The vehicle, which has heavy damage to its front bumper and right-side headlight, was taken to a police precinct for processing.

Police also interviewed the vehicle's owner and the roommate of the person they think was driving the SUV the night of the hit-and-run. Both were later released.

The boys' father, Michael Viruet Sr., said he fought mixed emotions after hearing police had recovered the vehicle. He said he hopes that finding the car will help authorities track down the driver responsible for injuring his sons.

"They got the biggest piece of evidence, they got the car," the father said. "Now it's just a matter of time."

The identity of the car's owner has not been released.

Authorities say an armed suspect was chased down by an officer on horseback after a shooting in downtown Newark.

The victim was being treated at University Hospital for "serious injuries" after being shot around 5 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Mulberry Street and Center Street, near the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, according to Newark police.

Authorities say the shooting suspect tried to flee on foot immediately after the shooting, but was quickly apprehended by the equestrian officer, Eric Schroeder, a 13-year veteran on the force.

A weapon was recovered at the scene.