Background: The area near the 3100 block of Meetinghouse Road in Upper Chichester Township, Pennsylvania, where the suspects were allegedly stealing cable wires (Google Maps). Insets (from left to right): Joseph Daniels and Angelina Williams (Upper Chichester Township Police Department).
A man and woman in Pennsylvania are accused of leaving their 4-month-old baby behind at a crime scene after police responded to a reported theft.
Joseph Daniels, 49, and Angelina Williams, 32, are each charged with theft by unlawful taking, endangering the welfare of children, theft of secondary metal, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy, and possessing an instrument of crime, the Upper Chichester Township Police Department announced.
A third suspect, 47-year-old Ray Gibase, faces the same charges.
At about 2:15 a.m. on March 30, the three defendants were “tampering with cable wires” near the 3100 block of Meetinghouse Road in Upper Chichester Township, Pennsylvania, police said. They reportedly had a maroon Chrysler 300 with them, as well as a Jeep Liberty.
Police responded to the scene and said they saw the Chrysler “with cable wire protruding from the open trunk and hand saws in plain view on the passenger seats.” The trio were allegedly cutting an inactive Verizon cable, per regional ABC affiliate WPVI.
“The copper inside the cables is a hot item for the precious metals to be melted down and taken to wherever they can to get pawned,” Upper Chichester Police Department Lt. Christopher Jones told the outlet.
The police department said its officers “secured and towed” the Chrysler to its headquarters and waited for a search warrant to be approved. However, while inspecting it, an officer “observed a baby car seat covered with a blanket. He then noticed movement and discovered an infant inside.”
“Once it was back here, our officers were checking the exterior of the car, and one officer noticed that a blanket in the backseat moved slightly,” Jones said.
Officers went inside and found that the baby boy was “unharmed” and sleeping. He was brought to a local hospital to be looked over.
The three suspects are believed to have driven away in the Jeep as the officers initially arrived at the crime scene. Sometime later, officers with the Aston Police Department stopped the vehicle and found Williams and Gibase inside, as well as a “saw blade under the passenger seat.”
Background: The Upper Chichester Township Police Department headquarters in Aston Township, Pennsylvania (Upper Chichester Township Police Department). Inset: Ray Gibase (Upper Chichester Township Police Department).
“Further investigation determined that the infant”s mother, Angelina Williams, was involved in the cable wire tampering incident,” the Upper Chichester Police Department said. “She was subsequently taken into custody and admitted to her involvement.”
Gibase was released but turned himself in to police on Sunday. Daniels — identified by WPVI as the baby’s father — was driving a maroon Chrysler 300 on Saturday morning with three women inside when troopers pulled him over. “Upon further investigation, Troopers determined that Daniels had an active arrest warrant issued by the Upper Chichester Township Police Department.” He was arrested.
Police did not say whether this was the same Chrysler that they had towed and found the baby inside.
Court records show that all three defendants have appeared for a preliminary arraignment. Williams is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Thursday, while Daniels and Gibase are scheduled to have theirs on April 16.
Williams is being held on $100,000 bail, Daniels is being held on $45,000 bail, and Gibase is being held on $50,000 bail.
