Police Investigating Tuesday Morning Car Fire

Authorities believe there may be a connection between the fire and a shooting incident at the same address nearly a month earlier.

Norristown Police are investigating a fire that destroyed a Norristown resident's minivan last week and that they believe may be connected to an incident nearly a month prior where shots were fired at the same resident's home. According to reports from the Norristown Police Department, officers responded to the 600 block of Kohn Street just before 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20 for a report of a vehicle fire. On the scene, police discovered a 2012 Dodge Caravan completely engulfed in flames.  An officer made contact with the vehicle owner, who lives in the neighborhood. The owner reportedly told police she did not know who would do this to her car or why. A witness told police that he was awoken by what sounded like an explosion behind his …

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Fireworks the Cause of Valley of Fear Haunted House Fire in Bucks County

Lower Southampton Fire Marshall's investigation found that two Valley of Fear employees playing with fireworks were the cause of a fire that destroyed the haunted attraction.

Two former haunted house employees are facing a slew of charges after Lower Southampton Fire Marshall William Oettinger ruled that the blaze that destroyd the Bucks County Halloween attraction was caused by arson. Authorities collected fireworks and fireworks paraphernalia from the scene of the fire, according to an affidavit. Lucas McChesney, 29, of Philadelphia, has been arraigned on first-degree arson and related feloney charges after he turned himself into police, and an arrest warrant was issued on the same charges for John Tardino, 26, of Middletown. All six of the Phoenix Sport Club employees who were interviewed during the investigation reported hearing what they described as fireworks going off just before they observed the fire. …

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Arson Found as Cause of Betzwood Trailer Park Fire

Joanne Frye reportedly admitted to investigators that she started the Aug. 3 fire to collect on the $50,000 insurance policy on her home.

Local Gang Members Plead Guilty to Criminal Conspiracy and Other Charges

Four alleged members of the "Gangsta Killer Bloods" pleaded guilty to charges stemming from 2010 firebombings in Norristown.

According to The Times Herald, four alleged members of the "Gangsta Killer Bloods," a local offshoot of the infamous Bloods street gang, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy, corrupt organizations and other charges stemming from a series of firebombings in Norristown in late 2010. Twenty-year-old Arienne Dayna Hernandez and 23-year-old Anthony Ray Knight, both of Norristown, 20 year-old Amber Marie Lucas, of Plymouth Meeting, and 24-year-old Emmett Pearson, of Pottstown, were four of the seven members authorities say set fires in 2010 to intimidate supected witnesses. Three other defendants are still awaiting trial. Read more about the charges here. Read more about the original grand jury indictment of the gang members and the case against …

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Friday Morning Car Fire Under Investigation

Authorities suspect arson in Friday morning car fire on East Spruce Street.

According to The Times Herald, a car fire in the early morning hours of Friday, Jan 20, is under investigation by local and county. Officers and firefighters responded to East Spruce Street at approximately 2:17 a.m. for a report of a 2002 Acura engulfed in flames. After the fire was extinguished, investigators discovered a cinder block in the front seat of the car that appeared to have been used to smash the window. They also found a can of lighter fluid nearby. According to the Herald, the owner of the vehicle did not want to make a police report. "It's definitely suspicious and being treated as an arson fire," Norristown Fire Chief Tom O'Donnell told the Herald. Read more about the incident here.

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Urban Terrorists Crippled by Grand Jury

Montco DA announces the arrest of 10 members of the Norristown-based "Gangsta Killer Bloods."

On Wednesday morning, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman announced the arrest of 10 alleged members of the "Gangsta Killer Bloods," including the alleged leader of the gang, 23-year-old Augustus Anthony Simmons, of Brooklyn, NY. The arrests cap off six months of work by a Montgomery County investigative grand jury, who traced the alleged criminal enterprise back to Simmons' arrival in Norristown in July of 2010. "When Simmons came in last summer, his goal was to organize criminals on the streets behind him," said Ferman. "He came down with the purpose of establishing and solidifying a Blood set in Montgomery County." A large scale investigation was launched on Dec. 15 2010, after a pair of fire-bombings on Stanbridge Street. …

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Police Briefs

Read reports of recent crimes from the Norristown Police Department.

Theft of services, criminal mischief According to Norristown police, Montgomery County Human Services Center director Frank Lepore reported damage to the parking lot gate at the center’s parking lot at 1430 DeKalb St. According to police, witness Donna Stephens reported seeing a gray 2001 Chrysler Town and Country, driven by a white female now suspected to be Candace McCoy, of 711 Cedar Knoll Road in Coatesville, stop at the exit gate of the parking lot at 3:30 p.m. April 13. The witness stated an unknown black female passenger exited the car and tried to move the arm of the exit gate, subsequently breaking it, and then re-entered the car. Stephens said the car then exited the parking lot without anyone in it paying parking fees. Police …

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