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Berks County, PA

NJ Man Shot Dead At PA Truck Stop, Troopers Say NJ Man Shot Dead At PA Truck Stop, Troopers Say
NJ Man Shot Dead At PA Truck Stop, Troopers Say A New Jersey man was shot and killed at an I-78 truck stop in Upper Bern Township early Friday morning, March 22, according to Pennsylvania State Police.  James Alexander Hilton, 40, of Southampton, was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.  Investigators said Hilton was helping another driver park his truck at Love's Travel Stop around 2:45 a.m. He and another truck driver got into an argument which led to the shooting, troopers said.  The suspect fled the scene in his truck but was pulled over near Exit 40 and arrested at 3:30 a.m., according to state police. Author…
New Forecast Map: 4 Inches Of Snow Now Projected For Parts Of NJ, PA New Forecast Map: 4 Inches Of Snow Now Projected For Parts Of NJ, PA
New Forecast Map: 4 Inches Of Snow Now Projected For Parts Of NJ, PA In a newly-released forecast map, parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania are expected to get up to four inches of snow in this second winter storm of the week. The new map shows between 3 and 4 inches could fall along the Jersey Shore, in South Jersey, and in the Reading/Greater Philadelphia areas in the storm expected to begin late Friday, Feb. 16. UPDATE: 13 Inches Of Snow Fell In These NJ, PA Towns — See Who Got The Most Snow Central Jersey could see up to 3 inches while North Jersey and the Poconos will likely only see 1 or 2 inches, the NWS says. Snow will continue through Saturday, Fe…
NJ Man Who Stabbed PA State Trooper 'Numerous Times' In Berks County ID'd NJ Man Who Stabbed PA State Trooper 'Numerous Times' In Berks County ID'd
NJ Man Who Stabbed PA State Trooper 'Numerous Times' In Berks County ID'd A Pennsylvania State Police trooper was stabbed while serving a warrant for a New Jersey man in Berks County on Saturday, according to multiple releases by Trooper David Beohm.  Two troopers were sent to serve a 302 warrant, which is for involuntary mental health commitment, for 27-year-old Bradley Odenath of Pine Hill, NJ. They arrived at 293 Bachmoll Road, Tilden Township at 8:42 a.m. on Dec. 30, Beohm detailed.  "During their interaction with the male one of the troopers was stabbed numerous times in the leg," Beohm stated in the release.  Troopers were able to subd…
Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor
Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor A youth pastor was sentenced to 25 yers in New Jersey State Prison for coaxing boys to send him nude photos and then blackmailing them, authorities said. Sean Higgins, 32, of Palmyra committed the crimes in 2020 while serving as the youth pastor and music leader at Harbor Baptist Church in Hainesport, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw. He was also a teacher at the Harbor Baptist Academy, a private K-12 school that is housed in the same facility. Higgins pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of child endangerment for each of the four victims. None …
57 Walmarts, Sam's Clubs Hit By Dad-Son Robbers Across NJ, PA: Authorities 57 Walmarts, Sam's Clubs Hit By Dad-Son Robbers Across NJ, PA: Authorities
57 Walmarts, Sam's Clubs Hit By Dad-Son Robbers Across NJ, PA: Authorities A Philadelphia man and his son are accused of carrying out a string of armed robberies across the mid-Atlantic states over a period of months, and the elder suspect is still at large, authorities say.  Jamaal Mitchell, 42, and his 24-year-old son Jahmir Mitchell are charged with robbery, retail theft, terroristic threats, and related counts, said Tilden Township police in a release on Wednesday, April 26.  In Berks County, the pair are suspects in the Oct. 16, 2022 robbery of the Tilden Walmart, authorities said. Investigators believe they stuffed over $900 worth of merchandise into two sh…
First Storm Of Season Bringing Snow, Gusty Winds To Much Of NJ, Eastern PA First Storm Of Season Bringing Snow, Gusty Winds To Much Of NJ, Eastern PA
First Storm Of Season Bringing Snow, Gusty Winds To Much Of NJ, Eastern PA The first storm of the season is shaping up for parts of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, with snow and gusty winds expected all day Wednesday, Jan. 25. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisor for Morris, Sussex, Warren, western Passaic counties, Berks, Lehigh, Monroe and Carbon counties, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Summary of weather hazards for the Wednesday winter storm. Snow, mixed precipitation, strong winds, coastal flooding, and marine impacts area all expected. Posted by US National Weather Service Philadelphia/Mount Holly on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 The wes…
Pastor 'Julie' Coaxed Boys To Masturbate Online, Gets 27 Years: Prosecutor Pastor 'Julie' Coaxed Boys To Masturbate Online, Gets 27 Years: Prosecutor
Pastor 'Julie' Coaxed Boys To Masturbate Online, Gets 27 Years: Prosecutor A youth pastor from Palmyra admitted to coaxing underage boys on social media into sending him nude pictures and videos, then using that material to blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves for his enjoyment, authorities said. Under an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, Sean Higgins, 32, pleaded guilty to four counts of child endangerment in exchange for 27 years in New Jersey state prison, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw Each count represents a separate victim. Higgins committed the crimes in 2020 while serving as the youth pas…
Jersey Shore Drummer Found Dead In PA Dumpster Had Crawled In After Party: DA Jersey Shore Drummer Found Dead In PA Dumpster Had Crawled In After Party: DA
Jersey Shore Drummer Found Dead In PA Dumpster Had Crawled In After Party: DA A New Jersey drummer found dead at a Berks County dump on Saturday, Nov. 12 had crawled into a dumpster the night before, according to officials and those who knew him.  Kellen J. Bischoff, 19, of Manahawkin, NJ, was found dead at the Total Recycling Facility on Lincoln Road in Birdsboro just after 8:30 a.m., said District Attorney John T. Adams in a release Monday, Nov. 14.  Investigators were able to identify Bischoff by his "unique" tattoos, and eventually learned that he was visiting a family member in Kutztown, the DA said.  Loved ones had last seen the teen i…
NJ Youth Pastor Indicted For Online Sex Exploitation Of 13 Boys In Multiple States: Prosecutor NJ Youth Pastor Indicted For Online Sex Exploitation Of 13 Boys In Multiple States: Prosecutor
NJ Youth Pastor Indicted For Online Sex Exploitation Of 13 Boys In Multiple States: Prosecutor A Burlington County teacher and youth pastor has been indicted for coaxing underage boys on social media to send him nude pictures and videos, then using that material to blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves for his enjoyment, authorities said.  A grand jury indicted Sean Higgins, 31, of Palmyra on 75 total counts that included charges of aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, cyber harassment, child endangerment, and obscenity to a minor, they said. Thirteen of the counts were first-degree charges, according to Burlington County Prosecutor …
Missing Man's Body Found In Creek 5 Months After Disappearance: State Police Missing Man's Body Found In Creek 5 Months After Disappearance: State Police
Missing Man's Body Found In Creek 5 Months After Disappearance: State Police The body of a 60-year-old Pennsylvania man was found in Berks County more than five months after his disappearance, authorities said. Ronald Garman was found dead in the Maiden Creek off Route 622 in Richmond Township on Thursday, April 14, Pennsylvania State Police said. His body was discovered floating in the water in a "heavily decomposed state." Garman was reported missing on Nov. 4, 2021, police said. He was last seen on Oct. 30, 2021, at his home in the 900 block of Route 143 in Greenwich Township, WFMZ reports. The investigation remains ongoing.
PA Man Used Apple Watch To Track Wife Before Shooting Her, Killing Man She Was With: Report PA Man Used Apple Watch To Track Wife Before Shooting Her, Killing Man She Was With: Report
PA Man Used Apple Watch To Track Wife Before Shooting Her, Killing Man She Was With: Report A 38-year-old Pennsylvania man is facing murder charges after injuring his wife and killing another man in what police are calling a "domestic-related shooting" at a shopping center in Berks County on Saturday, March 19. Nehemias Santiago Montes, of York, tracked 30-year-old Jessica M. Cruz-Rodriguez using an Apple watch he'd hidden in her car, and waited for her in the parking lot of the Wyomissing Walmart store around 4 p.m., according to the York Daily Record and Borough Police Chief John G. Phillips. Montes noticed an SUV parked next to her car, driven by Alexi Omar Rodriguez …
'Marathon' Storm Threatens NJ, PA With Freezing Rain 'Marathon' Storm Threatens NJ, PA With Freezing Rain
'Marathon' Storm Threatens NJ, PA With Freezing Rain A "marathon" storm is slowly moving into New Jersey and Pennsylvania, threatening some areas with freezing rain and dense fog. "The storm is a marathon, not a sprint," AccuWeather Senior On-Air Meteorologist Justin Povick said of the 48-hour storm that began Wednesday in the central part of the US. Save for parts of Morris, Sussex, and Warren counties, New Jersey will see mostly rain Thursday night into the late morning or early afternoon Friday, the National Weather Service says. There is a chance it will turn to freezing rain or create ice on the ground as temps start to drop. Visib…
Hero Dad Scares Off Would-Be Carjacker With Handgun In Philly Suburbs: Police Hero Dad Scares Off Would-Be Carjacker With Handgun In Philly Suburbs: Police
Hero Dad Scares Off Would-Be Carjacker With Handgun In Philly Suburbs: Police Police were able to arrest a carjacker shortly after a Berks County dad stopped him from stealing his car while his son was inside. The dad was in a parked car with his son in the 1200 block of Penn Avenue in Wyomissing on Dec. 3, when the unarmed suspect opened the car door and told the man to get out twice, local police said. The man refused and pulled a legally owned handgun from the glove box, Wyomissing police said. The carjacker then shut the car door and fled on foot, eventually getting arrested three blocks away in the 1500 block of Penn Avenue, according to police. He was identif…
PA Boy, 10, Shot, Killed During Thanksgiving Target Practice, DA Says PA Boy, 10, Shot, Killed During Thanksgiving Target Practice, DA Says
PA Boy, 10, Shot, Killed During Thanksgiving Target Practice, DA Says A 10-year-old Berks County boy was shot and killed during target practice on Thanksgiving Day, authorities said. Responders carried the boy out of the woods to an ambulance after he was shot near his home about 100 feet off Chestnut Street in Hereford Township around 1:30 p.m., they said. He was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest near Allentown, where he was pronounced dead. District Attorney John Adams said the target shooter was “known to the child” and was among those interviewed by State Police as part of an ongoing investigation. An autopsy reportedly was expected to be cond…
PA Daycare Worker Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting Children PA Daycare Worker Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting Children
PA Daycare Worker Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting Children A jury found a former Berks County daycare worker guilty of sexually assaulting children, according to authorities and news reports. Andrew McCollin -- then aged 33 -- was arrested on Aug. 30, 2019, after a 4-year-old child reported that a teacher at Creative Beginnings Early Learning Center in Bern Township had inappropriately touched them, according to WFMZ and detectives with the Berks County District Attorney's Office. Since then, investigators learned of a 5-year-old child and another child -- whose age was not released -- who were sexually assaulted by their teacher in 2018 and 2…
Remnants Of Hurricane Ida Threatens NJ, PA With Tornados & Flooding Remnants Of Hurricane Ida Threatens NJ, PA With Tornados & Flooding
Remnants Of Hurricane Ida Threatens NJ, PA With Tornados & Flooding Remnants of Hurricane Ida is posing a risk of tornados and flooding across parts of New Jersey and the Philadelphia area Wednesday. Thunderstorms are largely possible across Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties in the afternoon -- which could turn into tornados, according to the National Weather Service. Enhanced Risk for tornadoes extended, slightly farther north; Gale Watch upgraded to a Gale Warning; Small northwest shift in heaviest rain amountsNational Weather Service In Pennsylvania, a flash flood watch was issued for …
2 Tornadoes Touched Down In Pennsylvania, Possible Twister Eyed In Morris County, NWS Says 2 Tornadoes Touched Down In Pennsylvania, Possible Twister Eyed In Morris County, NWS Says
2 Tornadoes Touched Down In Pennsylvania, Possible Twister Eyed In Morris County, NWS Says Two tornadoes have been confirmed as touching down in parts of Pennsylvania, the National Weather Service said. An EF-1 tornado was confirmed in Bucks and Montgomery Counties early Thursday. Another tornado touched down Wednesday night in Berks County, according to the NWS office in Mount Holly, New Jersey. Tornado experts are continuing to survey parts of Morris County in New Jersey to see if a twister also touched down there, NWS officials said late Thursday. There was numerous reports of large trees uprooted, power lines down, widespread electric power outages and severe damage to roofs…
US Marshals Nab PA Driver In South Jersey Road Rage Shooting, Authorities Say US Marshals Nab PA Driver In South Jersey Road Rage Shooting, Authorities Say
US Marshals Nab PA Driver In South Jersey Road Rage Shooting, Authorities Say U.S Marshals captured a Pennsylvania driver accused of brandishing a gun and shooting at another driver during a road rage incident in South Jersey last month, authorities said. The victim told NJ State troopers that their Ford F-150 was struck by gunfire as they were approaching exit 35 on State Highway 55 southbound in Vineland City on June 20, authorities said. The victim said the driver of an unidentified white SUV fired the gun during a road rage incident and fled southbound, according to NJ State Police. The victim described the driver, which led investigators to Cary Speaks, 29, of …
NWS Issues Severe Thunderstorm Watches In PA, NJ, WV, DE, OH, MD NWS Issues Severe Thunderstorm Watches In PA, NJ, WV, DE, OH, MD
NWS Issues Severe Thunderstorm Watches In PA, NJ, WV, DE, OH, MD The National Weather Service has issued multiple weather warnings across several states for Monday afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service in State College has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in 35 counties in Pennsylvania including but not limited to the following: Adams Berks Bucks Chester Cumberland Dauphin Delaware Franklin Fulton Huntingdon Juniata Lancaster Lebanon Lehigh Montgomery Northampton Perry Philadelphia Schuylkill York In New Jersey the following counties are under the same advisory, according to the National Weather service: Burlington Camden Glouscester S…
Deadly Police Shooting Of 'Emotional, Confused' Man Battling Cancer Was Unjust, Daughter Says Deadly Police Shooting Of 'Emotional, Confused' Man Battling Cancer Was Unjust, Daughter Says
Deadly Police Shooting Of 'Emotional, Confused' Man Battling Cancer Was Unjust, Daughter Says It wasn't brain or lung cancer that killed a 62-year-old Berks County man battling both. Rather, a police shooting on Monday that his daughter is calling a tragic and unjust misunderstanding that could have been avoided and handled differently. Steven Hughes of Muhlenberg Township was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer early last year and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for both ever since. The treatment often leaves him confused -- according to his daughter, Anjie Leigh Hughes, of Montgomery County -- which was exactly the case Monday afternoon, when he reporte…
Ice Now, Snow Later: Region Bracing For Back-To-Back Winter Storms Ice Now, Snow Later: Region Bracing For Back-To-Back Winter Storms
Ice Now, Snow Later: Region Bracing For Back-To-Back Winter Storms While a mix of ice, snow and freezing rain is expected to coat the region Monday evening, another storm comprised of mainly snow could be just days away, meteorologists say. Freezing rain was likely to start falling around 6 p.m., with northwestern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania expected to get the most ice accumulation, according to the National Weather Service. Commercial travel was banned on many New Jersey highways due to the slippery conditions. An ice storm warning was issued in Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset, Morris and Sussex counties, which were expected to get between two and …
Body Of 23-Year-Old Shoplifting Fugitive Pulled From Flooded Quarry After 24-Hour Search Body Of 23-Year-Old Shoplifting Fugitive Pulled From Flooded Quarry After 24-Hour Search
Body Of 23-Year-Old Shoplifting Fugitive Pulled From Flooded Quarry After 24-Hour Search The body of a 23-year-old man wanted for shoplifting was pulled from a flooded quarry in eastern Pennsylvania after a nearly 24-hour search, authorities said. Joshua Fontanez-Rodriguez of Minersville ran from police investigating reports of an alleged shoplifting that occurred Friday morning at a Muhlenberg Township Target store, CBS reports. Fontanez-Rodriguez went missing in the water of the fenced-off Berks County Products Quarry, and the search was called off Friday evening due to darkness. His body was pulled from the water Saturday, according to the Berks County coroner’s office. An…
Prosecutor: South Jersey Pastor Blackmailed Youths In 4 States, Demanded Nude Snapchat Photos Prosecutor: South Jersey Pastor Blackmailed Youths In 4 States, Demanded Nude Snapchat Photos
Prosecutor: South Jersey Pastor Blackmailed Youths In 4 States, Demanded Nude Snapchat Photos A 30-year-old pastor from Burlington County is accused of coaxing underage boys to send him nude photos and videos, authorities said. The Baptist youth pastor and music leader of a Hainesport church then used the material to blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves for his enjoyment, according to Burlington Count Prosecutor Scott Coffina. Sean Higgins, 30, of Temple Boulevard in Palmyra has been charged with a total of 28 crimes he committed while posing as a teenage girl, Coffina said.  Higgins is youth pastor at Harbor Baptist Church, and also serves as a teac…