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Monday, dec 23
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Berks County Prison
News
Family Of Trucker Struck Dead On I-78 Sues Driver Of Hit-And-Run Vehicle: Lawsuit
The family of a Florida truck driver who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Berks County filed a lawsuit against the driver, according to the court document, which was filed Friday, Nov. 1. Jymel Dejuan Smith's family filed a lawsuit against Akhmadkhon Vokhidk Ubaykhonov, a Philadelphia man who was driving the tractor-trailer that struck and killed Smith, the lawsuit obtained by Daily Voice states. Smith had pulled his tractor-trailer over on Interstate 78 West near mile marker 41.5 in Greenwich Township at 4:54 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 13, according to previous reporting by Daily Voice.…
Police & Fire
PA Man Attempts To Kidnap Girl In Reading Alleyway: Report
A Berks County man attempted to kidnap a girl from an alleyway in Reading on Friday, Oct. 11, authorities said. Liam Wilkinson, 24, of Blandon, had posed as a teen boy on social media to lure the girl into an alley in the 600 block of Ritter Street, WFMZ 69 News reported on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Once she was in the alley, Wilkinson attempted to get her to climb into his vehicle. When she refused and tried to leave, Wilkinson chased her down and held a knife to her throat, WFMZ said. She managed to free herself and get away, and Wilkinson took her phone, which she dropped as she struggled…
News
Sword-Wielding Drug Dealer Convicted PA Murder: DA
A convicted drug dealer is back behind bars again, this time for murdering a man with a sword, the Berks County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday, Oct. 10. William Smoot, 50, Exeter Township, was convicted of First-Degree Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder for stabbing DelCollo multiple times with a sword on Thursday, Oct. 10, according to the Berks County District Attorney's Office. Smoot has been held in the Berks County Prison while awaiting sentencing, the district attorney's office said. A sentencing date was not available at the time of publication. Smoot's accompl…
Police & Fire
PA Woman Shot By Husband While Reading Bible: Affidavit
An 84-year-old Bethel woman was shot in the head as she was reading the Bible, according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The woman was shot by her husband, Howard "Philip" Boltz, as she was sitting at their dinner at their dining room table at 9:10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, as detailed in the affidavit of probable cause. Boltz, 82, told his wife, "I can't stand it no more. You are cutting me down," as he placed a .22 caliber rifle's barrel against her head, according to the document. The rifle was still covered with a cloth Boltz used to protect it while i…
News
Florida Man Struck Dead On I-78: Pennsylvania State Police
A 49-year-old Florida man has died following a hit-and-run on Interstate 78, Pennsylvania State Police announced on Saturday, Aug. 24. Jymel Dejuan Smith of Clermont is a trucker, according to his social media, he had pulled his tractor-trailer over on I-78 West near mile marker 41.5 in Greenwich Township at 4:54 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 13, PSP Hamburg Trooper Brian Roland detailed in the release. While standing next to the tractor-trailer another vehicle struck him and fled the scene, Roland wrote. That vehicle was located nearby by Pennsylvania State Police and they arreste…
Police & Fire
Berks Man Beat Dog With Broom Handle On Video, Troopers Allege
A 34-year-old Laureldale man is in police custody on animal cruelty charges, said state police in a release. Tyrone H. Lane is accused of beating a 4-year-old Siberian husky with a wooden broom handle, according to troopers. Police claimed it happened on Feb. 10 and said the alleged incident was captured on video. They also said the dog had injuries consistent with a beating. "The video evidence vividly portrays the deliberate and malicious actions of Lane," the release says. "Such behavior not only violates legal statutes but also underscores a concerning lack of empathy…
Police & Fire
175K+ Fentanyl Doses Seized In Massive Reading Drug Bust: Berks DA
Hundreds of thousands of doses of illegal drugs are off the street and four men are in custody following a massive police raid and drug bust on Monday, the District Attorney's Office announced on March 12. Detectives and Reading police launched an investigation into "street level" drug dealing on the 200 block of South 6th Street in September 2023, according to the DA's office. With assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, authorities executed search warrants at multiple properties — all in the same block — on March 11, including:&…
Police & Fire
Teen Charged In West Wyomissing Shooting: Police
A teenager is in police custody after one man was shot in the leg in West Wyomissing on Friday night, March 8, authorities say. Ke'Sean Williams, 18, of Wyomissing, is charged with attempted homicide, attempted aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, said Spring Township police in a release. Officers were called to West Lawn Avenue around 11:30 p.m. for reported gunfire, according to the department. They found the victim and several others fleeing the scene, the release says. The victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds, authorities said. Inve…
Police & Fire
Reading Man Guilty In 2018 Triple Murder, Berks Court Finds
The suspect in a 2018 triple homicide was convicted by a Berks County jury on Wednesday, March 6, authorities say. Jairo Guerrero-Bautista, 21, of Reading, was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy, said the District Attorney's Office. Investigators say he conspired with Jonathan Torres and two other unidentified men to kill Marli Alonso, Omar Harris, and Joel Cintrón on Dec. 12, 2018. Alonso, 18, Harris, 20, and Cintrón, 19, were killed on the 600 block of Moss Street, according to police. Guerrero-Bautista remains in the Ber…
Police & Fire
Alleged Reading Human Trafficker Gets 22 Years For Ordering Jailhouse 'Hit' On Witness
A Reading man facing an ongoing human trafficking case could spend up to two decades in prison for ordering a jailhouse hit on a testifying witness, authorities say. Dushawn Ellis was sentenced to 8 to 22 years behind bars on Monday, Feb. 26 for witness intimidation and obstruction of justice, said the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. Investigators have said Ellis, 34, was in custody at the Berks County Prison when he offered another inmate $20,000 to assassinate the witness. The other inmate was an acquaintance of the witness and told him about the offer, accor…
Police & Fire
Alleged Reading Human Trafficker Ordered 'Hit' On Witness From Jail: AG
A Reading man accused in a human trafficking case was found guilty of ordering a "hit" on a testifying witness, according to prosecutors. Dushawn O. Ellis, 34, was convicted by a Berks County jury Wednesday, Dec. 7 on charges of witness intimidation and obstruction of justice, said the state Attorney General's Office. Ellis was in custody at the Berks County Prison when investigators say he offered another inmate $20,000 to assassinate the witness. The same day, authorities said he used "technology available to him inside the prison" to video call the witness and make the threat…
Police & Fire
Berks Cops Find Drug Lab During Search Of Home: Authorities
A Berks County man is charged with manufacturing drugs after police searched his Boyertown home. Eastern Berks Regional Police officers and state troopers were investigating a "suspicious situation" at a property on the 200 block of Shaner Street when they made the discovery Wednesday, May 31, they said in a release. Inside, police said they found "various different household chemicals" being used to make an "illegal substance." Due to the find, the state police Clandestine Lab Response Team was called to the site, authorities wrote. While crews were spotted wearing …
Police & Fire
Harrisburg Man Wanted For Ephrata Burglary Arrested In Berks County, Police Say
A 23-year-old Harrisburg man has been arrested in connection with a burglary at the Green Dragon Farmers Market in Ephrata, authorities announced on Wednesday, January 25. Devan Andre Robinson, and another man yet— to be identified man— broke into the market and stole an unknown sum of money during the overnight hours on December 14, 2022, the Ephrata police explain in the release. Robinson has been charged with burglary, criminal conspiracy to commit Burglary, and criminal mischief on Jan. 12, according to the police. He is currently being held in the Berks County Prison on unrelate…
Police & Fire
Berks Teen Who Stabbed Boy During Fight Booked On Attempted Murder: Report
A Berks County teenager faces attempted murder charges for stabbing another during a fight at a park, according to police documents originally obtained by WFMZ. Steven Oritz, 17, of Perry Township, stabbed a 16-year-old boy in the chest and arm during a fight at a park in Hamburg, according to the report. The victim was in the intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest as of Tuesday, Nov. 29, police told the outlet. State court records show Ortiz is charged as an adult with attempted murder, attempt to cause serious injury, and aggravated assault — all…
Police & Fire
Four Pounds Of Meth, Fentanyl, Stolen Gun Seized In Berks County Busts: PD
An investigation by local and state law enforcement led to one arrest and the seizure of several pounds of drugs, cash, and stolen gun, authorities in Berks County said. Viccasey Garcia, 35, of West Reading was arrested on Thursday, Sept. 8 after the Reading Police Department, Berks County District Attorney Drug Task Force and Pennsylvania State Police found the items during a search of two homes linked to him, they said. The warrants were served at a house on N 6th Avenue in West Reading and the other on the 1800 block of Scindo Court in Muhlenberg Township, authorities said. The followin…
Police & Fire
Contractor Agrees To Meet With Officer Posing As Girl, 13, In Undercover Sting: Police
A 34-year-old man who agreed to meet with an officer posing as a minor was arrested in an undercover sting, authorities in Berks County said. Jeremy Kreiser, of Fleetwood, messaged a social media account and agreed to meet the 13-year-old girl -- who was actually an undercover officer -- outside of an elementary school in Reading where he had been working as a private construction contractor, Reading police said. When he went out to meet the "girl" on Tuesday, he was arrested, according to police. The Reading School District was immediately notified by police. The school has not been spec…
Police & Fire
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…
Police & Fire
Berks Man Convicted In Shooting Of 11-Year-Old Reading Boy
A Berks County man was found guilty Wednesday of injuring a young boy in a shooting more than two years ago, authorities said. Cesar Tavarez, 30, of Leesport, was convicted on charges of attempted murder, persons not to possess firearms, conspiracy, and related offenses, after a two-day trial, according to the Berks County District Attorney's Office. Melvin Parker, 11, was sitting in a parked car in the 100 block of West Oley Street in Reading with his mother and her boyfriend on July 19, 2019, when shots were fired into the car, WFMZ reports. Parker was taken to an area hospital with…
Police & Fire
Police Apprehend Second Suspect In Shooting That Killed 18-Year-Old Man In Reading
Police in Berks County have arrested a man accused in the 2020 shooting death of an 18-year-old man in Reading, authorities said. Xavier Concepción, 32, was taken into custody Wednesday at his home in Leesport, and charged with first and third-degree murder in the death of Victor Aguirre Jr., of Laureldale, according to the Reading Police Department. Aguirre was shot multiple times in 300 block of Church Street at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, 2020, police said. Concepción is being held at Berks County Prison. A second suspect, Ramses Miller, 18, was arrested on…
Police & Fire
Man Agrees To Sex With Officer Posing As Girl, 15, In Undercover Berks Sting, Police Say
A 40-year-old man who agreed to having sex with an officer posing as a juvenile was arrested in an undercover sting, authorities in Berks County said. Gerardo Lopez responded to an ad placed on sex websites and agreed to meet the 15-year-old girl -- who was actually an undercover detectives -- at a motel for sex, Wyomissing police said. Lopez was arrested July 16, and transported to Central Booking. He was later transferred to Berks County Prison. Charges were filed with District Court.
Police & Fire
Berks Man Posed As Young Boy To Get 10-Year-Old Girl To Send Nude Photos, Authorities Say
A 23-year-old Berks County man was arrested on various charges after he posed as a young boy online to coerce a 10-year-old girl to send him nude images, authorities said. An investigation ensued after the girl's father reported on May 28 that he discovered the sexually explicit conversations between his daughter and Dennis Heckrote, of Sinking Spring, dating back to when the girl was 8-years-old, according to Chief County Detective Michael J. Gombar. In a June 1 interview, the girl told Berks County Detectives that she messaged someone on TikTok and Discord, who she believed was …
Police & Fire
PD: SWAT Standoff Ends In Arrest Of Berks County Man Who Allegedly Threatened Wife With Gun
A 36-year-old man was in custody Friday morning after a nearly 5-hour standoff with police in Berks County that began Thursday night, authorities said. Sean M. Butler Jr. had allegedly assaulted and threatened his wife with a firearm inside a home on the 2200 block of Spring Street in Spring Township around 10 p.m, according to Deputy Chief of the Spring Police Department, Stephen Powell. With a crisis negotiation team on the scene, police talked to Butler Jr. through the phone, in an attempt to get him to surrender, Powell said. After Butler refused to surrender, police created a dis…
Police & Fire
Berks Man Already Charged With Homicide Stabs 2 Lehigh County Jail Corrections Officers
A 23-year-old Berks County man charged with homicide in relation to a shooting last August in Reading reportedly stabbed two corrections officers on March 9 at Lehigh County Jail in Allentown, according to LehighValleyLive. Mohnton native, Joewel Keita, who is now being housed in Berks County Prison, was charged Thursday with four counts of aggravated assault in the stabbing, according to court documents obtained by LehighValleyLive. Keita reportedly had a homemade knife but Lehigh County Jail staff members failed to find it in a search of his cell while Keita was on a recreation break the …
Police & Fire
Ambler PD Busts 'Uncooperative' Registered Sex Offender
A registered sex offender is behind bars following a five-month investigation conducted by Ambler Borough police who discovered that he had no address on record, authorities said. Warnersville resident, Shawn Rager, was charged on Dec. 23 after failing to comply with sexual offender requirements, police said. The Ambler Borough police investigation included hours of surveillance, search warrants, interviews, and assistance from the Berks County Probation and Parole Department. Rager is currently sitting in Berks County Prison awaiting his preliminary hearing.
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