Officers found a man trying to flee assault charges because he posted a selfie on Facebook while sitting on a Greyhound bus out of town, said a western Pennsylvania police chief.

Ambridge Chief James Mann told the Beaver County Times 22-year-old Donald Harrison was wanted on charges he assaulted a woman and wouldn't let her leave her apartment after an argument on Jan. 24.

An hour after the woman called police, Harrison — originally from Spartansburg, South Carolina — posted the Facebook message, "IT'S TIME TO LEAVE PA."

Police couldn't find him right away, but officers noticed the Facebook selfie on Sunday with the message saying he was headed to South Carolina. Police had him arrested when the bus stopped in Youngtown, Ohio.

The chief says, "We like it when dumb criminals assist us."

Philadelphia comedian Bill Cosby has canceled his Feb. 21 appearance across the state in Pittsburgh.

Heinz Hall issued a short news release Tuesday saying the show "has been canceled by mutual agreement with Cosby's presenter and Heinz Hall management." No specific reason was given.

The venue's website indicated that fewer than half the available tickets had been sold for the show at the 2,676-seat venue.

The 77-year-old comedian and television star has been dogged by accusations from women that he sexually abused or harassed them. Several of his shows have drawn protesters since the allegations resurfaced in recent months.

Cosby has denied wrongdoing.

Refunds will be issued for tickets to the Pittsburgh show.

Fashion design students from Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design spent three weeks designing and creating dresses made from diapers.

The project came as a result of a challenge issued by SCA, a global hygiene and forest products company with headquarters here in Philadelphia: to create beautiful garments using — exclusively — SCA’s TENA incontinence care products and materials. Products used included absorbent products for men and women such as pantiliners, daytime and overnight pads, male guards and adult diapers.

SCA provided materials to the 13 students, who worked in four groups. The winning team created a green-braided dress and was awarded $1000 by SCA. Two groups of runners-up were awarded $250 per team. 

SCA used this contest as a way to help educate and open a dialogue about incontinence.

The remaining unused products were donated to a local women’s shelter.

The City of Philadelphia is home to 25,000-thousand vacant properties — some unsightly and others dangerous.

“As you can see, the whole back end of this house fell down,” said Bernard Polis, who lives less than half a block from 741 S. 15th Street where loose bricks, a partially-collapsed roof and violation notices are visual reminders of a home vacant and deteriorating for four years.

"In that condition it's in and the fact, the fact that it can injure somebody. We'd have a disaster around here,” said Polis.

The fear for Yusef Jamal-Addine feels even more urgent. The house right next to his on Mulberry Street is tilting.

"It’s sitting there deteriorating and it's leaning toward my house,” Jamal-Addine points out. "It seems to me that I’m hearing creaking at night, you know. And you just can't be sure you know."

The NBC10 Investigators found the Department of Licenses and inspections (L & I) posted this notice — in May of 2014 — ordering the owner to renovate or demolish the property. That didn't happen. A second city notice went up in December warning the property poses imminent danger and the owner needs to fix it or knock it down immediately. It is still standing.

Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Carlton Williams assured NBC10 and the citizens of the Philadelphia, "That's why we have close oversight over that property and properties like the one that you mention."

The city breaks the 25,000 vacant properties into three categories:

• 22,900 = Vacant But Safe
• 1,800 = Unsafe
• 300 = Imminently Dangerous

(( click map below for enlarged image )) 

L & I did knock down more than 300 imminently dangerous properties last year. Williams cites due process as the primary reason the demolition process doesn’t move faster.

"If they don't comply by the second violation it’s then sent to court."

And the wheels of justice can spin slowly.

We found hundreds of vacant property cases on file at the prothonotary's office. All waiting to be heard.

Judge Bradley Moss hears and rules on L & I cases. Citing orders from his superiors, Moss backed out of an on-camera interview with the NBC10 investigators. But off camera Moss says each case is different and some take nearly one year to resolve.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz has been critical of how L & I operates.

"We know the situation is absolutely destructive of many neighborhoods in the city.” Butkovitz tells NBC10 the city needs to do more than post violations.

"You have to hit them [property owners] financially. It's got to be. The city has to be serious about imposing fines."

L & I said it currently does not issue fines with violation notices. Property owner are fined and billed only if the city has to perform work on the property.

Back on Mulberry Street we found the owner of the home next door to Jamal-Addine requested a repair permit in January.

“I’m concerned that it's going to fall on my house,” said Jamal-Addine, who has an idea of what to do with the property.

"Knock it down. Knock it down first and then build up a new house."

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office is investigating whether an Upper Darby Police officer stole evidence from the department.

Drugs and cash went missing from the evidence room of the Upper Darby Police Department last week, according to NBC10 sources. Sources told NBC10 officials are now investigating whether an officer in the department was responsible for the theft.

No charges have been filed however.

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

Police are searching for an armed robber who was caught on camera leaping through a counter window with his gun drawn.

The suspect entered Nedro Grocery Store on the 1500 block of West Nedro Avenue back on Feb. 6 at 9:56 a.m.

The masked man pointed a gun towards a 34-year-old employee and demanded money from the cash register. He then jumped through the counter window and grabbed an unknown amount of money. He then fled the store on foot and was last seen running north on 16th Street and then west on Widener Street.

The employee was not injured during the ordeal.

The suspect is described as a medium-built, 20-year-old man standing 6-feet with tattoos on his arms. He was last seen wearing a black mask and dark hooded jacket with three gray stripes on the sleeves.

If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Philadelphia Police.

All of the center lanes on Roosevelt Boulevard have been reopened following a massive water main break that caused police to close the entire road in Northeast Philadelphia Tuesday morning.

The inner lanes between Red Lion Road and Grant Avenue in the Bustleton section of the city were closed during the evening rush. Officials announced the lanes were reopened shortly before 8:30 p.m.after repairs were completed. Crews will return at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday to pave around the repairs.

The 16-inch water main broke around 6:30 a.m.

As SkyForce10 hovered overhead you could see water covering all lanes of traffic as cars slowed to a near halt as police diverted traffic off the road.

Traffic backed up in the area as the gushing water froze on the roadway.

Crews used road salt to melt ice and get part of the road reopened.

SEPTA also detoured its 1 and 14 bus routes during the morning rush.

No residents or businesses in the area lost water service, said Philadelphia Water Department spokesman John DiGiulio.

A decade after a couple left a South Street bar and disappeared without a trace, officials are now revisiting the case.

FBI agents are adding more resources and man hours in the investigation of Danielle Imbo and her boyfriend Richard Petrone, who went missing ten years ago. They are also re-interviewing people in connection to the disappearance.

Imbo, of Mount Laurel, and Petrone, who lived in Philadelphia, were last seen leaving the now-defunct Abilene’s bar on Philadelphia's South Street on Feb. 19, 2005. Petrone's Dodge Dakota pickup truck was never found and the couple's cellphones, bank accounts and credit cards weren't used after their disappearance.

Imbo was 34 and Petrone was 35 at the time they went missing – each left behind children.

Officials believe the two may have been the victims of a murder-for-hire plot, but will not say why.

On the fourth anniversary of their disappearance, FBI agent J.J. Klaver explained why they won’t rest until they get answers -- even if the couple has been declared dead.

“When it comes to murder, we don’t give up,” Klaver said.

The Philadelphia Daily News reports a $50,000 reward is being offered for information about the couple's whereabouts. Anyone with information is asked to call either the FBI at 215-418-4000 or the Citizens Crime Commission tipline at 877-345-TIPS or 215-546-TIPS. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
 

Police have released a surveillance photo of a man accused of raping a woman at a Center City SEPTA station Monday.

A 27-year-old woman met the suspect on the platform of the Jefferson Station near 10th and Filbert streets Monday around 1 p.m., police said. Investigators told NBC10 the woman then asked the suspect for directions.

The suspect took the woman into the track area of the station where he physically and sexually assaulted her, according to investigators. He then fled on foot in an unknown direction.

Investigators told NBC10 they don't believe the woman knew the suspect.

The suspect is wanted for rape and aggravated assault. He is described as a man between the ages of 25 and 28, standing between 5-foot-10 and 5-foot-11 and weighing 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black coat with silver trim, red and white scarf, black knit hat, black jeans and grey sneakers. He was also carrying a red backpack.

If you have any information on the incident, please call the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251/52/53.

You’re walking down Broad Street, heading toward the subway when you’re accosted by a masked man. He points a black handgun at your chest.

“Give me your money,” he demands.

You start to reach into your pocket. But then something goes horribly wrong.

A loud crack rings out. Pain shoots through your chest as you fall to the ground. Out of the corner of your eye you see your robber’s feet pound the concrete as he runs away.

Witnesses rush to you. They call 911. A police officer arrives in moments, before firefighters and paramedics can get there. Now the officer must make a choice: wait for the paramedics to arrive and offer advanced medical care or put you into the back of the police cruiser and speed you to the nearest trauma center.

Which is better?

Local trauma experts believe getting you to the hospital right away could offer you a better chance of survival. And they’re planning to launch a first-of-its-kind citywide study to answer the question once and for all. It’s a study that is bolstered by what police are already doing and could change how paramedics treat certain gunshot and stabbing victims.

“We think it’s very helpful in a very specific trauma patient population,” Dr. Amy Goldberg, head of trauma care at Temple University Hospital, told NBC10 Tuesday. Goldberg is leading the study efforts along with trauma fellow Dr. Zoe Maher.

Evidence suggests carrying out standard field procedures like inserting a breathing tube or providing fluids intravenously to victims suffering from penetrating wounds — being shot or stabbed — between the neck and the knees can be detrimental.

“In those patients that are bleeding and have a low blood volume, if you put a breathing tube in and bag them, you may be decreasing their blood pressure even more,” Goldberg said.

“If you have a patient who is bleeding and you put an intravenous line in and you pump their pressure up with that intravenous line because you’re giving them fluids, you may dislodge any clots that are there and cause more bleeding,” she said.

In the study called the Philadelphia Immediate Transport in Penetrating Trauma trial, paramedics working in city ambulances that provide advanced life support will be instructed by dispatchers to either carry out normal medical procedures on patients that fit the criteria or immediately take them to the hospital.

The medics will be exempt from obtaining informed consent from patients — meaning victims won’t be asked if they’d like to take part in the research.

“It’s not like you can have a patient that’s shot on the street, who has a low blood pressure and high heart rate, and we say ‘Sir, we’d like to enroll you in our study,’” Goldberg said.

But the exemption allows the study to be truly random and provide the strongest results, according to Goldberg.

Thirty-seven percent of Temple’s trauma patients arrive to the emergency room by either police or private vehicles. Not all are victims of penetrating wounds to their torso, but doctors say a good chunk are. The hospital carried out prior studies that looked at patient data and ones that simulated penetrating wounds on animals, but none were this extensive.

“We don’t want to go on antidote and we don’t want to rely on retrospective studies and animal studies,” Goldberg said. “We do believe in our hearts that this is the best way to take care of patients to save their lives.”

Temple researchers are teaming up with colleagues at each of the city’s trauma centers — Penn, Hahnemann, Jefferson, Albert Einstein and Aria — and the Philadelphia Fire Department to carry out the trial. It’s the first time they’ve all worked together on this scale.

“We’re trying to get smarter about what we’re doing,” said Dr. Patrick Kim, Trauma Program Director at Penn Medicine. “Sometimes smarter means doing more and different procedures and sometimes it means not doing more procedures.”

If researchers’ hypothesis turns out to be true, it would most likely lead to changes to how not only local paramedics treat these victims, but also their counterparts in cities across the United States.

The city has conditionally approved the study and expects to provide final approval soon. Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. James Buehler tells NBC10 any project where informed consent is forgone gets extra scrutiny from city officials.

Goldberg said citizens will have the opportunity to opt out of the study. After registering with researchers, they will be provided a rubber wrist band that tells paramedics they would not like to participate.

Researchers expect the trial to last up to three years and plan to collect data from 780 participants. It will begin after undergoing three months of community outreach notifying citizens study will be taking place.

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter and Facebook.

Aggressive phone calls top the Internal Revenue Service's list of "Dirty Dozen" tax scams in 2015. The government warned taxpayers to be aware -- the early weeks of filing season are when phone scams tend to be rampant.

Here's the complete 2015 "Dirty Dozen" list:

Phone Scams: Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remains an ongoing threat to taxpayers. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent months as scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other things. The IRS reminds taxpayers to guard against all sorts of con games that arise during any filing season.

Phishing: Taxpayers need to be on guard against fake emails or websites looking to steal personal information. The IRS will not send you an email about a bill or refund out of the blue. Don’t click on one claiming to be from the IRS that takes you by surprise. Taxpayers should be wary of clicking on strange emails and websites. They may be scams to steal your personal information.

Identity Theft: Taxpayers need to watch out for identity theft especially around tax time. The IRS continues to aggressively pursue the criminals that file fraudulent returns using someone else’s Social Security number. The IRS is making progress on this front but taxpayers still need to be extremely careful and do everything they can to avoid becoming a victim.

Return Preparer Fraud: Taxpayers need to be on the lookout for unscrupulous return preparers. The vast majority of tax professionals provide honest high-quality service. But there are some dishonest preparers who set up shop each filing season to perpetrate refund fraud, identity theft and other scams that hurt taxpayers. Return preparers are a vital part of the U.S. tax system. About 60 percent of taxpayers use tax professionals to prepare their returns.

Offshore Tax Avoidance: The recent string of successful enforcement actions against offshore tax cheats and the financial organizations that help them shows that it’s a bad bet to hide money and income offshore. Taxpayers are best served by coming in voluntarily and getting their taxes and filing requirements in order. The IRS offers the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) to help people get their taxes in order.

Inflated Refund Claims: Taxpayers need to be on the lookout for anyone promising inflated refunds. Taxpayers should be wary of anyone who asks them to sign a blank return, promise a big refund before looking at their records, or charge fees based on a percentage of the refund. Scam artists use flyers, advertisements, phony store fronts and word of mouth via community groups and churches in seeking victims.

Fake Charities: Taxpayers should be on guard against groups masquerading as charitable organizations to attract donations from unsuspecting contributors. Contributors should take a few extra minutes to ensure their hard-earned money goes to legitimate and currently eligible charities. IRS.gov has the tools taxpayers need to check out the status of charitable organizations. Be wary of charities with names that are similar to familiar or nationally known organizations. )

Hiding Income with Fake Documents: Hiding taxable income by filing false Form 1099s or other fake documents is a scam that taxpayers should always avoid and guard against. The mere suggestion of falsifying documents to reduce tax bills or inflate tax refunds is a huge red flag when using a paid tax return preparer. Taxpayers are legally responsible for what is on their returns regardless of who prepares the returns.

Abusive Tax Shelters: Taxpayers should avoid using abusive tax structures to avoid paying taxes. The IRS is committed to stopping complex tax avoidance schemes and the people who create and sell them. The vast majority of taxpayers pay their fair share, and everyone should be on the lookout for people peddling tax shelters that sound too good to be true. When in doubt, taxpayers should seek an independent opinion regarding complex products they are offered.

Falsifying Income to Claim Credits: Taxpayers should avoid inventing income to erroneously claim tax credits. Taxpayers are sometimes talked into doing this by scam artists. Taxpayers are best served by filing the most-accurate return possible because they are legally responsible for what is on their return.

Excessive Claims for Fuel Tax Credits: Taxpayers need to avoid improper claims for fuel tax credits. The fuel tax credit is generally limited to off-highway business use, including use in farming. Consequently, the credit is not available to most taxpayers. But yet, the IRS routinely finds unscrupulous preparers who have enticed sizable groups of taxpayers to erroneously claim the credit to inflate their refunds.

Frivolous Tax Arguments: Taxpayers should avoid using frivolous tax arguments to avoid paying their taxes. Promoters of frivolous schemes encourage taxpayers to make unreasonable and outlandish claims to avoid paying the taxes they owe. These arguments are wrong and have been thrown out of court. While taxpayers have the right to contest their tax liabilities in court, no one has the right to disobey the law or disregard their responsibility to pay taxes. The penalty for filing a frivolous tax return is $5,000.

One person was killed and three people, including two children, were hurt in a crash in Bucks County Tuesday night.

Two vehicles collided on Route 309 near Rich Hill Road in Quakertown. Officials say one person was killed in the accident. Three people, including two children, were also hurt. The surviving victims were taken to St. Luke's Hospital. Officials have not yet revealed their conditions.

All northbound lanes on Route 309 are currently shut down while only one southbound lane is open. SkyForce10 flew over the scene of the crash and captured a massive backup along the highway.

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

State Police are searching for a New Jersey man accused of abducting his two sons.

Kristopher Dohm, 36, is suspected of removing his two sons, Parker and Jaxon Dohm, and leaving New Jersey, which is in violation of a custody agreement, police said.

Dohm may have altered his appearance as well as the appearance of his sons by cutting their hair, according to investigators.

Kristopher Dohm is described as a 36-year-old white male standing 5-foot-7 and weighing 150 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Parker Dohm is described as an 8-year-old white male with brown hair and brown eyes standing 4-foot-3 and weighing 60 pounds.

Jaxon Dohm is described as a 7-year-old white male standing 4-feet and weighing 50 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Kristopher Dohm drives a 2009 grey Nissan Pathfinder with the NJ license plate S17CKV, investigators said.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts should call the Hopatcong Police Department at (973) 398-5000 or the New Jersey Regional Operations and Intelligence Center at (609) 963-6900 ext. 1.