Monthly Archives: December 2015

Sexual assault reported on HSC Monday morning

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Temple and Philadelphia police are investigating a sexual assault of a woman on N. 13th Street near W. Westmoreland Street on Health Sciences Campus Monday.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the woman was sexually assaulted at around 12:30 a.m. The woman described the suspect as a man with a long goatee wearing blue Puma sneakers, a blue jacket and blue jeans. She added she believed the man had a gun and walked with a limp.

Leone added the woman did not want further police investigation and left the hospital against medical advisory.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

Student robbed near Geasey Field

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Temple Police are investigating a Saturday night robbery of a 20-year-old female student near Geasey Field on Main Campus. The student was uninjured.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the student was at 1514 Diamond Street when a man approached her at around 8:30 p.m. and pressed an unknown object against her. The student gave the suspect $10 before he fled west on Diamond Street toward 16th Street.

Leone said the student described the suspect as a 40-year-old male wearing a brown jacket, brown boots, black wool hat with a salt-and-pepper beard. He added the student also believed the unknown object she was threatened with was a gun.

Leone said Temple Police are checking security cameras in the area to identify the suspect.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

Pearson-McGonigle power outages caused by melted cable

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Two power outages have closed Pearson-McGonigle Hall during the last four days.

A university spokesman said power was lost around 6:15 a.m. Friday when a cable melted at a weak part in a transformer located in Pearson Hall’s basement. This caused the main breaker for the building to trip, preventing further damage to the transformer but resulting in the outage.

He added that power was restored around 11:15 a.m. Friday, and all activities were cancelled for the day except for a afternoon basketball practice.

A TU Alert was sent out about the power failure at around 8:40 a.m. Friday.

Another TU Alert was sent out today about another power outage in Pearson-McGonigle at around 2:30 p.m. The spokesman said the outage occurred because Friday’s repair to the cable didn’t hold, and that workers are still fixing the cable.

Steve Bohnel can be reached at steve.bohnel@temple.edu or on Twitter @Steve_Bohnel.

Three men rob student northwest of campus

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Temple Police are investigating an armed robbery of a student that occurred Sunday night northwest of Main Campus.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the student was walking along Edgley Street near Diamond, when three men approached him, one of whom had a gun and showed it to the student.

The suspects then took the student’s iPhone 5 and wallet, along with a ring, earphones and hat, Leone added.
No injuries were reported. A TU Alert was sent out about the incident at 8:50 p.m.

Leone said the student described the three men as 20-25 years old. He reported one wore a blue zip-up sweatshirt and tan pants with a gun tucked into the waistband, the second wore a dark hoodie and dark jeans, and the third wore a dark polo shirt and dark jeans.

Leone added Temple Police stopped men last night who fit the description, but the victim said none of them were the ones that robbed him. He added they will review security footage from private cameras on the houses surrounding the area of the incident.

Tipsters can contact Temple Police at 215-204-1234.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

Police: 15-year-old boy found dead in car north of Main Campus

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UPDATE: Information has been updated to include an interview with Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.

Philadelphia Police discovered the body of a 15-year-old boy in the backseat of a Lincoln Town Car on North Park Avenue near Cumberland Street Friday evening.

The unnamed victim was shot once in the head, said Officer Christine O’Brien, a police spokeswoman, in an email. She added “there was no ballistic evidence or weapons recovered at the scene.”

The boy was pronounced dead on the scene by medics at about 7:30 p.m, police said.

Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told The Temple News the 15-year-old boy’s last known address was in Upper Darby, and he had been identified by his family. The car appeared to be abandoned, Small added.

His name has not yet been released to the public, Small said. He added there are no new leads in the investigation.

No arrests have yet been made, and the vehicle the boy was found in is still being processed for evidence, police said.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

News in brief: 12.1 Issue

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UPDATE ON SEVERAL COURT CASES 

Multiple cases The Temple News has previously reported on are currently in the pre-trial stages of the judicial system.

The preliminary hearing for 19-year-old Dimitrius Brown is set for Dec. 16 after it was previously scheduled for Nov. 25. Brown was arrested Oct. 16 for the murder of 14-year-old Duval DeShields. Brown also faces drug charges from August, and a pre-trial conference is set for Dec. 5.

Shakree Bennett’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7, after it was initially set for Oct. 29 and Nov. 19. Bennett, charged with the September rape and robbery of a 20-year-old female Temple student, also faces charges for an assault and robbery that occurred two days before the alleged sexual assault.

The pre-trial conference for Randolph Sanders has been set for Dec. 22. The first scheduled date for it was April 1, and most recent was Nov. 18. Sanders is charged for the murder of Kim Jones in January. Sanders is also accused of attempting to steal $40,000 from Turning Points for Children and is reported to have killed Jones because she intended to report him for trying to misallocate the money.

Brandon Meade was scheduled to appear in court for a formal arraignment Nov. 24 to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Meade is charged with the murder of Temple student Agatha Hall in August, which was originally thought to be a suicide. His case’s scheduling conference is set for Dec. 2.

No lawyers for the defendants or the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office could be reached for comment.

    -Julie Christie

“FLU CREW” HELPS WITH FLU VACCINES 

Senior nursing students Molly Kmetz, Yanna Savkova, Brianna Reed, Jamie Fitzgerald, Kelly Weniger and Shane McParland have called themselves “The Flu Crew” at Temple Hospital, according to a university press release.

The six students distribute surveys on vaccine opinion and administer vaccines to staff.

Out of more than 4,100 TUH employees, 3,649 have received vaccines as of Nov. 23. The goal is to reach 90 percent flu vaccine compliance.

The team travels around the hospital with a cart of vaccine equipment to make the process more convenient for staff.

Free flu vaccination services have been extended to March 31.

The Flu Crew plans to submit the information from the distributed surveys to medical publications.

  –Lian Parsons

SEPTA TO SPLIT BUSIEST BUS ROUTE 

SEPTA bus route 23 will be split into two starting Sunday.

The route runs for about 14 miles from Broad and Oregon streets through Center City, extending into North Philadelphia and Germantown, ending in Chestnut Hill. It is SEPTA’s most frequently used bus route and typically carries 21,600 passengers every weekday.

The new route 23 will run from Chestnut Hill to Walnut Street and an additional route 45 bus will transport passengers from Noble to Oregon streets.

This split aims to increase reliability and punctuality for the route, as the current 23 bus is late more than 60 percent of the time.

SEPTA spent about $42,000 on advertisements to inform passengers of the change.

The estimated cost of the split is about $460,00 per year.

–Lian Parsons

OVERCROWDING REPORTED AT HIGH SCHOOL IN NORTHEAST 

Overcrowding has become an issue at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Northeast Philadelphia after 350 students moved in from another school, the Daily News reported.

Teachers at the school, located on Cottman Avenue near Loretto in Castor said the influx of fifth- and sixth-grade students from Solis-Cohen School has endangered the safety of those at Woodrow Wilson.

“There are so many kids in the hallway at the same time, it’s unbelievable,” a teacher told the Daily News on condition of anonymity.

Philadelphia School District spokesman Fernando Gallard, however, told the Daily News there is no safety hazard because everyone is still able to exit the middle school during evacuations. He added that teachers should contact district officials with any concerns.

“If we have staff that have concerns regarding the fire drill and whether they can exit the building, we need to hear that,” he told the Daily News. “We will absolutely work with them on that. That’s absolutely a priority for us.”

The Daily News reported Wilson has undergone several recent changes to accommodate the overcrowding, from using its library as a classroom to having students share lockers.

-Steve Bohnel