Parkesburg police Thursday evening arrested David Price, a man wanted for a string of daring home burglaries throughout the region.
Detective Davis of the Parkesburg Police Force has been working a series of cases involving burglaries and motor vehicle thefts in our area. As reported in the Daily Local News on Thursday, the suspect brazenly broke into a residence on 5th Ave. while the family was sleeping, stealing credit cards and other valuables. Other jurisdictions in this area have also reported burglaries and similar violent acts. A recent burglary found that multiple guns had been stolen and possibly on the streets of Parkesburg. The state police had approximately 20-plus outstanding burglaries/home invasions with this suspect.
Parkesburg Police Chief Brian Sheller working cooperatively with several surrounding municipalities, put an action plan in place resulting in the capture of this suspect Thursday evening in Parkesburg, after a brief struggle.
The suspect, David Price, is currently sitting in the Chester County Prison on multiple jurisdictional warrants.
Chief Sheller received a call from Lieutenant Naylor, of the State Police, this morning, congratulating Parkesburg's department on the capture.
_________Here's what the Philadephia Inquirer wrote about the incident in Saturday's edition:
Police nab Chesco man who had evaded capture
An alert citizen, three police officers, and a Taser combined to end almost two weeks on the run for a Chester County man.Lt. Brian Naylor of the Embreeville state police barracks said yesterday that David Elijah Price, 25, who "has a history of evading capture," was taken into custody Thursday night. Officers recovered a stolen police badge and ID, part of Price's alleged stash from a burglary spree.
Naylor said a motorist recognized Price, whose last known address was Cochranville, and called Parkesburg police. Naylor said three officers used a Taser when Price, who left a van he allegedly stole, started to run.
Price was taken to Chester County Prison on an outstanding warrant for an assault on a police officer in Coatesville, Naylor said. Burglary charges are pending in a number of communities. - Kathleen Brady Shea
__________________________
Here's how the Daily Local News reported the incident in Saturday's Paper (www.dailylocal.com).
| Burglary suspect, girlfriend caught |
| COUPLE APPREHENDED IN PARKESBURG |
| By JENNIFER MILLER, Staff Writer |
| PARKESBURG — Police captured the man who allegedly broke into numerous Chester County homes, stole cars and swiped a South Coatesville police officer’s badge. Police arrested David Elijah Price, 25, of Cochranville, about 8 p.m. Thursday after he and his girlfriend were found with a stolen van on the 100 block of West First Avenue, police said. Police approached Price’s reported girlfriend, Brandi Collins, who was exiting the van reportedly stolen from Gap. When they approached her, they found Price hiding in the bushes in front of the Fulton Bank, police said. Price allegedly tried to fight with police, and then officers used a Taser on him, police said. Police then took Price to Brandywine Hospital for examination after a possible seizure and was later released. Police said they were unsure what caused the possible seizure, and that it could have been caused by something Price ingested. Price was arrested for an outstanding warrant for a reported assault on a Coatesville police officer. He is also a suspect in a Parkesburg home burglary that occurred earlier this month, police said. “My officers did an excellent job. Luckily no officers were hurt in the confrontation,” said Parkesburg Police Chief Brian Sheller. Police said the concern with Price’s alleged break-ins were that they occurred at night while residents were at home asleep. Police believe Price is responsible for burglaries and thefts in Caln, Coatesville, East Fallowfield, Parkesburg, South Coatesville, West Brandywine, and other municipalities in the Avondale and Embreeville state police jurisdictions. One of those break-ins happened at the home of a South Coatesville police officer. Police were able to recover the officer’s stolen badge after Price told them he threw it over a fence in South Coatesville. Price likely faces a slew of charges from multiple agencies, including both Avondale and Embreeville state police barracks. He is being held at Chester County Prison on past charges. Price reportedly has a history of fleeing from police when they attempt to arrest him on outstanding warrants. Price is wanted by the Coatesville Police Department for reportedly escaping from officers on at least two occasions and assaulting an officer. Collins, 19, of Exton, was charged with receiving stolen property and hindering the apprehension of Price. She was held at Chester County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail. Even after Price’s arrest, police continued to urge local residents to keep their homes and cars locked to prevent future thefts and burglaries. To contact staff writer Jennifer Miller send an e-mail to jmiller@dailylocal.com. |
13 comments:
The Parkesburg Police did a wonderful job...as usual.
Parkesburg has a wonderful police force. It's too bad Mr. Knickerbocker and several other council members cut the department off at the knees by firing 11 officers.
Council has just ensured Parkesburg's residents that crime will go up due to the cuts. It truly is a pity.
Tricia your comments and perspective are welcomed. I'll provide a longer response later in the week but a quick response to your comment is warranted:
1. Yes, I agree our police did, do, and I'm confident will continue to do a wonderful job. Their professionalism and dedication is second to none. The action to discontinue service to Atglen, Highland and Avondale was an economic decision and in no way reflected on the performance of the force or its chief.
2. The action Borough Council took to get out of the police service business was a UNANIMOUS decision of all five members of council present. The Mayor, the Borough Manager, the Borough Solicitor as well as an independent auditor supported the decision as well. The two members of Council not present were consulted prior to their departure for holiday travel and expressed unqualified support for the decision.
3. While Council's decision was unanimous, it was done with much sadness and disappointment. For this reason Council, led by President David Jones and Borough Manager Jim Thomas, continue our efforts to explore alternative approaches that take care of our partners/customers, protect the individual jobs of our police and ensure Parkesburg's financial viability is maintained.
I hope you'll join us Tricia in finding a solution that works for the police, the people of Parkesburg, and the good people of the municipalities serviced by our police.
Ken,
While I am pleased that you have confidence that the police will continue to do a wonderful job, the cutbacks you have made will make that near impossible.
Just as the District Attorney told you on 1/7/08...by cutting the department back to 7 men you have made it impossible to train officers without paying overtime. You are saying the borough is in some sort of financial crisis so how will you be able to pay said overtime. Police only get better through training. That will not be an option for the remaining 7 officers.
I do not believe you when you say that the terminations were done with sadness. I believe it was a knee-jerk decision made to punish the officers for engaging in collective bargaining.
There are really two issues here. The termination of the contract areas is one. The other is the termination of all those officers. What you are not addressing is the devastating effect this will have on the quality of the police department and the quality of life for the residents of Parkesburg. By cutting the department by 70% you have set Parkesburg Borough back 15 years.
Let's face it...the borough itself is a disaster. There are no decent businesses except the two pizza places, the flooring company and the pharmacy. You have a completely vacant shopping center and another that is partly empty. What business owners are going to want to come to a town that is moving backward instead of forward?
I don't know what your going to do to solve these problems. The one thing I do know is that cutting the number of good guys is never a good idea.
Tricia,
Again, even though you don't live in town or are registered to vote in Chester County, your passion for the police is appreciated.
Your assessment of the commercial landscape of Parkesburg is, sad to say, accurate. We have a real challenge on our hands for sure. Parkesburg is not unique in that regard. Its well documented that our challenge is the same one that every town in America has encountered when Walmart and the "big-box" people comes to town. We are very concerned with the situation and have increased our efforts to work more cooperatively with the Borough's businesses and landlords (commercial and residential) to improve the town's business climate. But much needs to be done. Rest assured council shares your concern and will continue to search for the right solution.
Regarding setting the town 15 years back, perhaps you could move to Parkesburg, register to vote and dive in and help us make the town better. Your input and contribution would be welcome by all.
Ken
Ken,
I am in fact registered with the Democratic Party, in the County of Chester.
And while you are correct that I do not live in Parkesburg, my husband dedicated 16 years of his life to the Borough.
I am sorry to say that living in Parkesburg Borough will never be an option for me because I am so disgusted by what has taken place there over the past several weeks.
I have no faith that the current council will do good things for the borough due to personal agendas of certain council members.
I only hope that you and your fellow council members can come together with a better solution. I guess we'll see what happens at the meeting later this month.
Thank you.
Tricia,
If you won't come to Parkesburg, perhaps Atglen can find a place for your misinformed sense of justice and passion.
With regards to how District Attorney Carroll feels about our decisions and police force configuration, leaders like Mr. Carroll tend to modify their perspective as they get more information. I wonder how Mr. Carroll feels today now that he's had a chance to review our budget closer and understand better why the Borough took the action it did. I suspect he would give a different, better informed answer today than the views he expressed Monday evening.
Ken
Ken,
You seem to think that because I don't live in Parkesburg, I should have no opinion.
As I stated earlier, my family has been negatively impacted by the terminations. As I see it, I have just as much reason to be concerned as any Parkesburg resident. Also, I live in a contract municipality which also impacts me negatively. However, I understand that is not your problem.
If the borough can show the DA and the officers that there really is a budget crisis in the Borough then I guess we have nothing to do but accept the fact that the contract areas can no longer enjoy the protection of the Parkesburg Police and 11 officers no longer have jobs.
As I said prior, since council stated that they will re-address the issue, I will be at the January 21 meeting to hear what council has to say.
Tricia,
Although the people of Parkesburg, the Council, and people of the contracted areas (Atglen, Highland, Avongrove) had only the highest regard for the Police force of Parkesburg, due to a ecconomic situation (salary budget over 20% for 4th year in a row, to start), We can only hope that the Borough Councils of Atglen, Highland, and Avongrove come to the table and pay their share of the costs for Parkesburg to continue with the Police Force or that they put their money where their mouth is and hire these fine Officers to be the Police Forces of Atglen, Highland, and Avongrove proper.
It is not that these areas do not need a Police Force, it is that Parkesburg Residents do not need to be subsidizing the police force for these areas anymore.
Tricia,
As far as I know there is no group that does not have the utmost respect for the wonderful job that the 18 officers of the Parkesburg Police force have been doing. This includes the residents of Parkesburg, Atglen, Highland, and Avongrove as well as the Borough Council members for each of these areas.
The decision of the Parkesburg Borough Council to terminate the contracts for Police coverage with the boroughs of Atglen, Highland, and Avongrove that then led itself to the downsizing of the Parkesburg Police force of 8 part-time and 3 full-time officers was done as a result of extensive research of the costs involved with providing these services to these Contracted areas.
This was a business decision and as tough as that would be for a small community to swallow, it needed to be done. The Parkesburg borough council has an obligation to the people of Parkesburg to provide cost containment. The residents are tired of subsidizing the other areas (Atglen, Highland, and Avongrove) for their police service.
Once these areas come to the table and pony up their respective costs for Police service, then the Parkesburg Police force can once again be the collective force to be reconded with. Until that time, I hope that these areas put their monies into hiring the fine officiers that have been serving them for the last 9 years.
Parkesburg is not subsidizing any other municipality! Each contract area pays an amount that covers their hours of service. Parkesburg is actually making revenue from these areas. That money is then placed in the general fund and not carried in the police budget. This allows Parkesburg to either pay less for more manpower or to cut their portion of the monies paid. The misinformation from the Parkesburg council is absolutely unprofessional and almost criminal. I challenge anyone to show the numbers needed to confirm councils position. Boro council, namely David Jones, needs to be held accountable for their radical approach to the police department as a whole. The tactics used here stink!! I believe it borders on offical oppression!!
How incorrect your assessment is of the way that the entire budget for the police force is handled? You and many of the residents of the local areas have a very mis-guided view of the facts and reality. I understand how you and your followers would want to have the Parkesburg residents continuing to watch the Police force salaries go over budget about 20% and have the residents footing the entire bill for the insurance and benefits portion of the police force. If you look at the numbers, it shows that the contracts (income) to Atglen, Highland, and Avongrove pay mainly only the salary and fuel portion of the officiers that provide coverage for those areas. What about the administration costs? What about the benefit and insurance costs?
The borough council is finally now working on getting all the costs figured into the equation.
Chris,
Benefits and Insurance?? What Benefits? Part time police officers don't get benefits. And Insurance? The policies are blanket policies. It doesn't matter if there are 2 cars or 20.
Atglen paid for a car. A new car. Highland has their own car.
And before you go any further...it's Avondale not Avongrove. What else are getting wrong?
Chris,
You are getting alot wrong! I believe you should take a genuine interest in what is going on and not jump on some misguided band-wagon.
Only part time officers are used for the contracted areas at an hourly rate of 18.00 per hour. They get no benefits and the insurance is a blanket rate.
The new proposed hourly rate, set by Parkesburg Boro council, is just over 54.00 per hour. You do the math!
This leaves Parkesburg Boro with either more officers for less money on their streets, or a cut in the boro's portion of the budget. Please get your facts straight before presenting them. It makes you look just like Dave Jones and company!!
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