This was relayed to us by a neighbor. She was at a local cafe recently with her young son.

I was having breakfast with my son at the Green Line at 43rd and Baltimore from 9:15 am to 10:00 am today and I had my credit cards taken out of my wallet while I was sitting at the table. Sadly, I had my purse on the back of my chair with my coat hanging over it with my son on my lap. A woman came in and sat behind me and I thought she was sitting too closely because there were so many other tables around me. I scooted my seat forward away from her. Well, turns out it was not far enough. When she left I felt paranoid about the situation and checked my bag to find my wallet still there. But 4 hours later I got a call from my credit card company questioning several fraudulent charges. Lo and behold I checked my wallet and my cards were gone. Please, please keep an eye on your bags. I was stupid, careless and taking care of my son.

The silver Cadillac stolen from 50th and Arch Streets. (Photo by westphillylocal.com)

The district attorney’s office announced today that no criminal charges would be brought against four Penn police officers involved in the November shooting death of an 18-year-old man following a car chase that ended at 40th and Locust Walk.

The announcement followed an investigation into the shooting death of 18-year-old Karl Sappleton, who along with 18-year-old Leslie Mosby crashed the silver Cadillac they had stolen into a metal post at 40th and Locust in the early hours of Nov. 21. The crash followed a car chase through West Philadelphia. The two men fled on foot. Mosby was taken into custody, but police said Sappleton, who was from Juniata Park, shot at them. The four officers – Benjamin Mauro, Fred Nichols, Greg Everage and David Adler – returned fire near the university library killing Sappleton. The DA’s office ruled that the four officers acted in self defense.

Hi. Here is a cogent reminder from reader Lisa Quinn.

She writes:

“I had my car broken into on the morning of Jan. 11. The robber smashed the driver’s side window and stole my I-pod and GPS, which were both stored in the center console. I want to get the word out so that people bring their devices inside instead of leaving them in the car for thieves. My car was parked at Larchwood and 51st. Just giving a heads up! Especially with the weather, you don’t want a broken window and your car exposed to the rain/snow/slush.”

Police are reporting that three masked men, one armed with a machete, robbed two people near the 4800 block of Beaumont Avenue (a block south of Baltimore) at about 1:40 a.m. Wednesday morning. The robbers took a phone, wallet and some cash, according to police. No one was injured and no one was arrested.

We will get more details on this as they come in.

A robbery/shooting left one man injured last night near 54th St. and Springfield Ave. The Daily News writes:

Philadelphia Police arrested five men yesterday who were allegedly running a “black money” scam on Philadelphia businesses, including one in Overbrook whose owner alerted the cops. Police report that one of the men arrested, 27-year-old Patrick Sanyeah,  lived on the 4600 block of Chester Avenue. All five men are Liberian nationals.
Basically the scam involves a fairly elaborate demonstration of “washing” U.S. bills from West Africa that have been blackened to get through U.S. Customs. The men tell businesses owners that they need a small investment from them to help in the washing operation and that they would get a portion of the money when it was complete. Sometimes called the “wash, wash,” the scam began appearing int he United States in 2000. It often starts with a random e-mail.
The Channel 6 video below explains yesterday’s arrest…