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Police & Fire
Gunman Opens Fire At Cars, Flees Police In Berks County: Authorities Gunman Opens Fire At Cars, Flees Police In Berks County: Authorities
Gunman Opens Fire At Cars, Flees Police In Berks County: Authorities A suspected gunman sits in a Berks County jail cell on multiple felony charges after police say he shot at cars and made terroristic threats on Tuesday, March 28.  Officers were dispatched to Railroad Avenue in the borough of Leesport at about 3 p.m. for reports of shots fired, said Northern Berks Regional police in a release.  When they arrived, witnesses told them the suspect was armed with two guns, and that he had taken off for the Leesport library, where he was "attempting to get into vehicles in the (...) parking lot," according to the department.  Police descended on …

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by Mac Bullock
News
Central PA Mom ID'd As RM Palmer Company HR Director Killed In Chocolate Factory Explosion Central PA Mom ID'd As RM Palmer Company HR Director Killed In Chocolate Factory Explosion
Central PA Mom ID'd As RM Palmer Company HR Director Killed In Chocolate Factory Explosion A 49-year-old Ephrata mom has been identified as one of the victims of the RM Palmer Company Chocolate Factory explosion, according to the Berks County Coroner's office. Amy Futer Sandoe, is believed to have died "instantly" as she was leaving the office, according to her family, although the coroner has yet to confirm this. She had been with the company since August 2019 in the Human Resources Department and she had become the director of the department in January 2022, according to her LinkedIn. Prior to coming onboard at RM Palmer Company she was the Human Resources Manager for Dairy F…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Suspect Charged In Berks County Stabbing Suspect Charged In Berks County Stabbing
Suspect Charged In Berks County Stabbing A West Lawn man faces criminal charges in connection with a reported stabbing, authorities say.  Spring Township police were called to Reading Hospital just after midnight on Monday, March 20 after emergency dispatchers were told that a person had been stabbed, the department said in a release.  Marcel William Darienzo, 27, was charged with felony aggravated assault with an attempt to cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon, police said. Court records show he is also charged with reckless endangerment, simple assault, and harassment — all misdemeanors.  Darienzo was re…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Berks Woman Caught With Loaded Gun At Philly Airport: TSA Berks Woman Caught With Loaded Gun At Philly Airport: TSA
Berks Woman Caught With Loaded Gun At Philly Airport: TSA A Berks County traveler faces a criminal citation and a civil fine up to $15,000 after she was found to have a loaded gun at Philadelphia International Airport this week, officials say.  It happened early in the morning on Wednesday, March 22, the Transportation Security Administration said in a release. A Hamburg Borough woman was passing through the X-ray unit at the security checkpoint when agents found the gun, they said.  The weapon, "a .380 caliber handgun," was loaded with seven rounds when seized by TSA, authorities wrote. The woman told security officers she forgot t…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Overturned Truck Closes Rt. 222 In Berks County Overturned Truck Closes Rt. 222 In Berks County
Overturned Truck Closes Rt. 222 In Berks County Traffic slowed in Berks County on Tuesday as emergency workers responded to the scene of an overturned tractor-trailer on Route 222, authorities said.  It happened near the intersection with Schaeffer Road in Blandon before 10 a.m. on March 21, said Northern Berks Regional Police in a statement. Both the northbound lane of the highway and Schaeffer Road were shut down through the morning as crews worked, they added.  By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, NBRPD told Daily Voice the highway was re-opened. Authorities have not said what caused the truck to overturn, nor did they report any i…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Berks Hit-Run Driver Abandoned Car, Leaving Cat For Dead: State Police Berks Hit-Run Driver Abandoned Car, Leaving Cat For Dead: State Police
Berks Hit-Run Driver Abandoned Car, Leaving Cat For Dead: State Police State police in Berks County rescued a cat from an abandoned car at the scene of a hit-and-run car crash over the weekend.  The accident occurred near the intersection of Kistler Valley and Red roads in Albany Township late on Saturday, March 18, troopers wrote in a police report. The driver of a red Toyota Carolla apparently lost control of their vehicle before colliding with a stop light, investigators said.  The driver fled on foot, but officers found a cat left abandoned in the car, they wrote. The animal had been injured in the crash, but had been left in the car overnight an…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
These Men Showed Up Hoping For Sex With Minors In Undercover OA Sting, Authorities Say These Men Showed Up Hoping For Sex With Minors In Undercover OA Sting, Authorities Say
These Men Showed Up Hoping For Sex With Minors In Undercover OA Sting, Authorities Say Authorities in Berks County have released mugshots of four of the eight men busted in an undercover operation for trying to have sex with children. The Berks County DA's Human Trafficking Task Force seeded advertisements across "websites commonly used for sex trade," offering "sexual relations with minors at a predetermined location in Berks County," prosecutors said in a release.  Throughout the course of the two days, eight individuals showed up to the rendezvous site and were arrested, DA John T. Adams said.  These suspects were arrested and charged with the followin…

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by Mac Bullock & Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Berks Taxi Driver Killer Learns His Sentence Berks Taxi Driver Killer Learns His Sentence
Berks Taxi Driver Killer Learns His Sentence The Reading man who stabbed a cab driver to death will spend decades in a Pennsylvania state prison, authorities say.  Johnny Palaguachi, 28, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years behind bars on Wednesday, March 15, said Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams in a statement.  He had previously pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, the DA's office noted.  Investigators have said that on Aug. 8, 2021, Palaguachi called for a cab and was picked up by taxi driver Darlyn De La Rosa-Abreu. The pair got into a "verbal altercation" before Palaguachi attac…

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by Mac Bullock
News
PA Man Shot By Law Enforcement After Using Flamethrower Says 'I Was Doing Drugs. I Apologize.' PA Man Shot By Law Enforcement After Using Flamethrower Says 'I Was Doing Drugs. I Apologize.'
PA Man Shot By Law Enforcement After Using Flamethrower Says 'I Was Doing Drugs. I Apologize.' A Reading man who survived a law enforcement-involved shooting that previously left him in critical condition has pleaded to all charges in the Lancaster County Courthouse on Thursday, March 16, 2023, according to the district attorney's office.  Zachary Robert Gilbaugh, 39, of the 1100 block of New Holland Road, pleaded guilty before Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle who accepted the plea and sentenced him to 8 to 20 years in prison.  “I regret what I did,” Gilbaugh said during the proceeding. “I was doing drugs. I apologize.” Gilbaugh was wanted on multiple warrants …

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Eight Suspects Arrested In Berks County Human Trafficking Sting: DA Eight Suspects Arrested In Berks County Human Trafficking Sting: DA
Eight Suspects Arrested In Berks County Human Trafficking Sting: DA The Berks County District Attorney's Office reports eight arrests following a two-day human trafficking sting operation, officials announced.  On Monday and Tuesday, March 13 and 14, the DA's Human Trafficking Task Force seeded advertisements across "websites commonly used for sex trade," offering "sexual relations with minors at a predetermined location in Berks County," prosecutors said in a release.  Throughout the course of the two days, eight individuals showed up to the rendezvous site and were arrested, DA John T. Adams said.  “The harsh reality is that human tra…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Woman In Custody After 6-Hour Standoff In Berks County: State Police Woman In Custody After 6-Hour Standoff In Berks County: State Police
Woman In Custody After 6-Hour Standoff In Berks County: State Police A Berks County woman was taken to an area hospital for a mental health evaluation after a six-hour standoff with state police, authorities say.  It happened in Windsor Township on Tuesday, March 14, officials said in a release. Concerned relatives called troopers to their residence, saying that a family member fired a gun from a bedroom window into the woods outside, police wrote.  Officers helped remove family members from the house and set up a perimeter, the release says. As troopers attempted to make contact with the woman, a state police Special Emergency Response Team (…

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by Mac Bullock
News
'Armed And Dangerous' Convict With Record In Six PA Counties Wanted, $4k Reward Offered: Police 'Armed And Dangerous' Convict With Record In Six PA Counties Wanted, $4k Reward Offered: Police
'Armed And Dangerous' Convict With Record In Six PA Counties Wanted, $4k Reward Offered: Police A convict with a knife assaulted, choked, and threatened a person in Harrisburg, Dauphin County Crime Stoppers announced on Thursday, March 9.  Warren James Mayo, 59, attacked someone in the late hours of March 5 into the early hours of March 6, according to the release. Additional details about the incident were not released.  Mayo has an extensive record of crimes in Dauphin, Cumberland, Berks, Schuylkill, Lebanon, and York counties. His first conviction for drug possession resulted in a year of probation in 1989 in Schuylkill County. Since then, he has been in and out of court…

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by Jillian Pikora