Police are on the hunt for the thief who stole a young boy’s custom-made wheelchair.
The chair belongs to 4-year-old Nicholas Lovecchio, who suffers from epilepsy and microcephaly, a neurodevelopment disorder. Nicholas’ mother, Vicki Lovecchio, told NBC10 she had left her son’s chair outside their home on Commerce Avenue in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, Monday around 2 p.m.
“I had my car parked here,” Lovecchio said. “I took it out. I didn’t put it in the house.”
An unidentified thief then snatched the chair and fled the scene. Police believe the suspect wanted to use the chair for scrap metal.
Whether it was trick-or-treating or watching a Phillies game, the chair, valued at more than $2200, allowed Nicholas to enjoy the same activities that other kids his age enjoy. Nicholas was also selected as an Easter Seals Ambassador during the summer. Easter Seals is a nonprofit charity organization that assists children and adults with special needs. Without his chair however, he may not be able to serve.
Lovecchio said she already has a doctor’s appointment lined up for her son Tuesday and is hoping her insurance company will be able to cover the costs for a new chair. More than anything however, she just wants the person responsible for the theft to return her son’s wheelchair.
“If it shows up on our doorstep anonymously, that would be wonderful,” she said. “We don’t want revenge or paybacks or punishment. We just want it back.”
After we first reported the story, several NBC10 viewers contacted us offering to help the family get a new chair. The family has set up a GoFundMe page for donations.
If you would like to donate, CLICK HERE.
The sentencing for convicted child rapist Christina Regusters has been postponed yet again.
Regusters was convicted of child rape at her three-week high-profile September trial. She was supposed to be sentenced Jan. 20. However, her sentencing date was moved to March 6, 2015, according to court documents.
This is the second time her sentencing date has been postponed. She was initially supposed to be sentenced on Dec. 15, 2014. That date was moved however because Judge Jeffrey Minehart wanted to wait until after the holidays, according to Philadelphia District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Tasha Jamerson.
The District Attorney's Office told NBC10.com that they will be seeking a maximum life sentence at Regusters' new sentencing date.
A jury of seven women and five men found the former day care worker guilty of all six counts -- aggravated assault, involuntary deviate intercourse of child-serious bodily injury, kidnap to facilitate a felony, unlawful contact with minor-sexual offenses, unlawful restrain of a minor-not parent-risk of bodily injury and concealment of whereabouts of a child.
Regusters abducted a 5-year-old girl from her Philadelphia elementary school and brutally sexually assaulted her with a sharp object.
Prosecutors said Regusters, dressed in Muslim garb, posed as the 5-year-old’s mother as she signed the child out of Bryant Elementary School in the Cobbs Creek section of the city on Jan. 14, 2013.
She was accused of leading the girl to a nearby home, putting her in a laundry bag and carrying her up into her bedroom. There, prosecutors say, Regusters blindfolded and stripped the girl, put her under a bed and sexually abused her with a sharp object. The entire ordeal lasted 19 hours, prosecutors say.
The girl was then dumped in an Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, playground wearing only a T-shirt. She was later found by a passer-by.
The girl had been severely injured in the attack, and doctors had to give her a temporary colostomy to let her body heal.
"She's an amazing and courageous little girl," lead prosecutor Erin O'Brien said of the young victim following the ruling. The girl, now 7, had testified in court before the accused.
Regusters’ DNA was found on the girl’s shirt, and images of child porn were found on the computer in the woman’s bedroom, detectives testified. Harrison argued such evidence was circumstantial, but, after the trial, conceded that the evidence was too damning.
Regusters, who was called a "monster" during the trial, remains the only person charged in the crime.
"The DNA was difficult to overcome as well as the Internet searches which I believe led to her undoing," Harrison said.
A civil lawsuit was filed by attorney Tom Kline against the School District of Philadelphia seeking damages for the child.
Nearly 20 residents were forced out into the cold night after a gas main began leaking gas into the basement of an apartment building in South Philadelphia overnight Monday.
Residents on the 1300 block of Snyder Ave. woke up to dangerously high natural gas readings thanks to a ruptured main that sent gas leaking into six homes. officials told NBC10's Jesse Gary.
"I was asleep and woke up to someone knocking on my door pretty loudly and I looked out my door and saw the fire truck... Now I'm out here just waiting for them to visit," said one evacuated resident.
Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) dug into the street and quickly repaired the 4-inch gas main.
Some residents were allowed back into their homes shortly after the repair while other were sheltered for hours at South Philadelphia High School until the gas levels in their homes decreased.
SEPTA service on Snyder Ave. between Broad and 13th sts has been rerouted.
An airline passenger traveling from Sierra Leone to Newark Airport was taken to the hospital after she began vomiting and exhibiting a fever, a source familiar with the response says.
The United Airlines passenger, who connected in Brussels before landing in New Jersey, was reported to have a fever and was vomiting, the source said. She was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the state's three hospitals assigned to handle potential Ebola cases.
Sierra Leone is among the West African countries ravaged by the Ebola virus. The Record newspaper reported the passenger was a health care practitioner who worked with Ebola patients there.
The entrance to the hospital's emergency room was blocked Monday evening, and patients were being directed to enter through the lobby.
The patient was kept overnight for further evaluation out of an abundance of caution, according to a statement from the hospital.
"Please rest assured that our dedicated team of healthcare providers is taking every precaution in treating this patient and they are led by our Infection Control team, working in accordance with protocols provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," read the statement.
A Twitter user on board the plane said authorities had passengers fill out health forms, and that responders were in hazardous materials suits.
A spokesman for United Airlines said medical personnel met the flight at Newark to assist an ill passenger on board the plane. Passengers and crew stayed on the plane until the medical responders cleared the aircraft.
There were 248 passengers and 14 crew members on United Airlines Flight 45 from Brussels, said the spokesman.
The CDC said it was working with EMS and the local health department to assess the ill passenger.
Anyone who flies into Newark or John F. Kennedy airports from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea must have their temperature taken with no-touch thermometers upon landing and are also monitored for symptoms for 21 days.
Despite sporadic scares of possible Ebola cases in the tri-state in recent months, only one person has been diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus here: Dr. Craig Spencer of Hamilton Heights, Manhattan. Spencer was successfully treated at Bellevue Hospital in early November after returning from Guinea while working with Doctors Without Borders.
Didn't have a chance to catch the news? Here are yesterday's top stories.
Man Killed in Massive I-76 Pileup Identified
Officials have identified the man who was killed in a massive and deadly pileup involving 56 vehicles on Interstate 76 in Montgomery County Sunday morning amid icy road conditions.
DashCam Confessional: Dover Police Officer Rocks Out to Taylor Swift
At least one Delaware police officer knows how to shake off the stress of the job! A patrol car dashcam caught a nearly 20-year veteran of the force lip-syncing and head bopping to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off."
Report Ranks Local Towns Some of the Safest in Pa.
Several local suburbs ranked high on a list of the safest Pennsylvania towns, according to an analysis by Movoto Real Estate.
Intruder Killed By NJ Homeowner
Lower Township police were called to the Route 109 home around 3:15 a.m. Sunday. The caller said someone was trying to break into the residence.
Hip-Hop Record Exec Dead at 26
RCA Records and Polo Grounds Music on Sunday confirmed the death of A$AP Yams, whose real name is Steven Rodriguez. Circumstances of his death were unavailable.
A Bucks County man inappropriately touched two girls during separate sleepovers, police said Tuesday after they arrested David Huebsch and charged him with sexual assault.
"It's just a horrific act by this creep," said Bensalem Police director of public safety Fred Harran.
An investigation into the Bensalem man was launched after a 9-year-old and 10-year-old girl told their parents they had been touched inappropriately by the 36-year-old during separate sleepovers at his Beech Lane home, according to Bensalem Police.
Huebsch was arrested early Tuesday and charged with sexual assault of a minor, corruption of minors and unlawful contact. A judge arraigned Huebsch Tuesday afternoon on eight total counts.
Police said Huebsch's daughter goes to school with the victims.
Police fear that there are more victims — possibly other children who attend Russell C. Struble Elementary — and they begged parents to talk to their children.
"Unfortunately we believe that there are other victims out there, not just these two girls," said Harran.
Detectives asked anyone whose daughter has had contact with Huebsch to contact police.
Philadelphians were part of a large group of riders on dirtbikes and all-terrain vehicles who weaved through the streets and freeways of Miami Monday evening traveling at high rates of speed, according to the Miami Herald.
I heard #miamibikelife lit ...... They all know I wish I could b there!
— Meek Mill (@MeekMill) January 20, 2015
Philly rapper Meek Mill was just one of thousands on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #miamibikelife. The ride, which took place following a Martin Luther King, Jr. parade in Miami's Liberty City section, was organized through social media and some of the cyclists liken their actions to the civil rights marches of the 1960’s.
“My squad; we don’t take off,” said Charles Lee Ray. “We don’t want to kill ourself or another person. So we be cautious. I mean, if you catch us, you catch us. It’s a traffic charge. I mean, you going to kill someone over a traffic charge?”
NBC's Chopper 6 followed the group for more than an hour as they first drove up and down NW 7th Avenue in NW Miami-Dade County.
Miami police said they tried to stop the group multiple times, but the riders refused. Miami police told Telemundo 51 that the group was trying to provoke authorities to chase them, but officers would not do that.
The Florida Highway Patrol said at one point there were over 500 bikers involved in the cavalcade of riders. FHP said while the group wasn’t obeying the laws, trying to stop that large of a crowd was as dangerous as the group itself.
“There was so many bikes and we can’t just chase them all. We’re not going to put our lives, their lives, and the lives of the public in danger,” said Trooper Joe Sanchez. “We take into consideration the lives of people. In this case, you have motorists out there. You have them and if we chase them, then we put everybody’s lives in danger. So we set back to monitor the situation and that was the right decision for us to take.”
The group traveled south on I-95 to downtown Miami before returning on the northbound lanes. The riders exited the road again and stopped at a gas station to regroup before heading northbound into Miami Gardens.
At least one accident was confirmed near the intersection of 49th Street and NW 17th Avenue. The cyclist was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, but no condition has been given.
Miami police issued a statement about the incident Monday evening:
"There aren't any open charges on anyone unless independent action was taken by officers that may have stopped bikers on a traffic violation (s) and cited them. We do have a plan of action that is followed for each event that is held in the City of Miami and an after action report that is reviewed the commander of the event (sic). I am sure there will be contingency plans added to future plans of action in the event that we have this type of incident arise during one of our future events."
A Delaware mother left her 1-year-old in a cab while she held up a Wawa overnight, said Delaware State Police.
A yellow minivan taxi pulled up to the Wawa at 705 Philadelphia Pike in Wilmington around 3:25 a.m. Tuesday to let Amanda Paoletti out, said police.
Paoletti left her infant daughter in the cab with the man they live with as she entered the store, said police. Once inside, the 29-year-old Wilmington woman indicated to a 19-year-old Wawa employee that she had a gun and wanted the money in the register, said investigators.
Police said that the woman behind the counter complied and handed an undisclosed amount of cash over to Paoletti who then left the store and jumped back in the cab.
Investigators later tracked down the taxi in question and had the driver — unaware of the heist — directed police to a home on the 100 block of Ashton Street. Inside the home police found Paoletti, her 1-year-old and the home’s owner — who had no knowledge of the heist.
Officer arrested Paoletti and found cocaine and drug paraphernalia in her possession. She was charged with robbery, child endangerment and drug possession and sent to county jail in default of $8,000 bail.
The parents of a Camden County, New Jersey boy killed after being run over by his school bus as his mother and brother looked on have filed a lawsuit in his death.
Edmond Bock IV was walking in front of his stopped bus along Aqua Lane in Atco on the morning of Jan. 6, 2014 when the driver unexpectedly began to move forward. The 6-year-old was pulled under the bus and his skull crushed.
The civil lawsuit filed against the Waterford Township Board of Education and their contracted bus company, Hillman's Bus Service, alleges the driver, who was substituting for the regular driver, had missed a turn earlier in the route and was moving quickly to get back on schedule.
The bus was facing the wrong direction than normal which forced Edmond Bock IV to walk in front, according to the lawsuit.
The Atco Elementary School first grader's mother, Candice, and younger brother, Ryan, were just steps away when he was pulled under the wheels. Candice Bock screamed and banged on the vehicle's side trying to get the driver to stop, but they kept going for some distance, according to the civil complaint.
The driver, who has yet to be identified, was later stopped by witness Anthony Lugo. He told NBC10 last year he chased after the bus in his car after giving Candice Bock his coat to cover up the boy's bloodied body.
The boy's father, Edmond Bock III, came home to find his son lying in the middle of the street.
"Basically all I want to say to parents is make sure you go home and hug your kids tonight," the father said. "You don't know if they are gonna be there tomorrow or not."
The Bocks, who have since moved from their Atco home because of the trauma, contend the driver was negligent and that Edmund Bock IV's death should have been prevented. Ryan Bock, now 5-years-old, is too terrified to ride a school bus. They have requested a jury trial.
NBC10 has reached out to the Waterford Township Board of Education and Hillman's Bus Service for comment, but have yet to hear back.
The family is also pushing for new school bus regulations that would force the installation of sensors in buses notifying drivers when a child is walking near the vehicles.
Four high-end watches were stolen during a smash-and-grab robbery at a jewelry store inside the Willow Grove Park Mall in Abington Township, Pennsylvania.
Three men walked through the Bloomingdale's and into the mall area before entering the Precision Watches & Jewelry Store around 7:20 p.m. Monday, according to investigators. They then used mini sledgehammers to smash through the display cases, police said. While reaching into the case, at least one of the suspects cut himself, according to investigators.
The men then stole four high-end Rolex watches. Fearing for the safety of his employees, the store owner fired two shots into the ceiling, causing the suspects to flee, according to police. The owner was licensed to carry the weapon, according to investigators.
The suspects ran through the Bloomingdale's ground level and out to the parking lot where a Chrysler mini-van, driven by a fourth suspect, was circling the lot. The suspects then fled the scene.
Jazmin Rodriguez, an employee at Bloomingdale's, told NBC10 the sound of the gunshots sent everyone into a panic.
"It sounded like some sort of gunshot and my first instinct was to run," she said. "I was with a co-worker and me and her just ran with the crowd out the door."
Rodriguez told NBC10 a crowd of people started running and ducking for cover.
"I'm still shaken up from it," she said. "It was very scary."
Aside from the suspect who cut himself on the glass, no one was injured during the ordeal.
Police later found the getaway van used by the suspects about a quarter mile away from the mall. The vehicle's ignition had been punched and police are trying to determine whether or not it was stolen.
On Tuesday police released surveillance photos of three of the suspects.
If you have any information on the robbery, please call Abington Police at 267-536-1100.
A quick developing Alberta clipper is expected to bring snow to most of the area Wednesday and could drop up to 4 inches in some neighborhoods.
The storm could affect the afternoon and evening commutes, said NBC10 First Alert Weather Meteorologist Brittney Shipp.
The snow system will move in from the west starting around noon in parts of Chester and Berks Counties before moving across the area. The snow will continue on and off from 3 to 6 p.m.
The snow should be at its heaviest and most widespread right in time for the evening commute from 6 to 8 p.m.
The National Weather Service issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook ahead of the storm. Temps in much of the area should be cold enough for snow but some areas — especially south and along the coast could see a wintry mix of rain, sleet and/or snow.
“There should be snow for most of the area,” said Shipp.
Shipp warned that at times throughout the afternoon and evening the snow could taper off but then return in parts of the area. It should finally move out around midnight but not before leaving accumulation in many areas.
Snow Totals:
- Parts north and west of the I-95 Corridor: 2 to 3 inches
- I-95 Corridor, immediate Philadelphia suburbs: 1 to 3 inches
- Southern Delaware & southernmost New Jersey: coating to 2 inches
Some areas could see more or less snow than even neighboring towns depending on elevation, temperatures and other factors.
Check back on the NBC10 website, app and on air throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday for the latest details on the changing storm.
Also expect to take some extra time getting where you're going Thursday morning as overnight freezing is expected on area roads.
