Manhunt over: Child sex assault suspect caught at residence
ASTON, PA. >> U.S. Marshals have captured a Pennsylvania man accused of sexually assaulting two young girls and leading authorities on a manhunt for more than a week.
David Hamilton Jr. was captured around 10:15 a.m. Friday at an Aston home. Authorities went there after getting a tip the 47-yearold Trevose man might be at the residence, which apparently belongs to a female relative.
Authorities say Hamilton was found hiding in a second-floor bedroom closet.
Hamilton had been sought since an arrest warrant was issued last week. He’s accused of sexually assaulting the girls over a fiveyear period.
Two New Hope police officers spotted Hamilton Sept. 21, but he escaped after a violent struggle during which he allegedly tried to steal an officer’s gun.
It’s not known if Hamilton has retained an attorney.
Man who was on the run for 15 years is sentenced in slaying
PITTSBURGH >> A homicide suspect who went on the lam for 15 years and traveled through three different countries will now spend less time in prison than he did on the run.
Keith Thompson was sentenced Thursday to serve six to 12 years in prison for the 2003 killing of 34-year-old Michael Brown in Pittsburgh. The 37-year-old Thompson had pleaded no contest to thirddegree murder.
After Brown’s death, Thompson fled to Miami and the Bahamas before police could arrest him. He was found and apprehended in Jamaica in February and was extradited back to Pittsburgh.
Investigators say Thompson told police he had been with Brown before his murder in 2003. Brown had been shot multiple times and was bound with clear tape when his body was found.
Most Philadelphia public libraries to close on Saturdays
PHILADELPHIA >> Less than half of the branches of Philadelphia’s public libraries will be open on Saturdays this fall due to a lack of funding.
The library system says only 23 of its 54 branches will be open on those days because the system can’t hire sufficient staff for the facilities. But Philly.com reports a grassroots effort called #FundOurLibraries is calling on city officials to provide more funding.
The library system’s $48 million budget is supported each year by city and state funding, along with private donations. But the system faced massive cuts in city funding about 10 years ago and has since struggled to open and staff libraries.
Michael DiBerardinis, the city’s managing director, says officials expect the library system will make its case for more funding during upcoming budget hearings.
Authorities: Man fatally shoots father, wounds mother
TINICUM, PA. >> Authorities say a man fatally shot his father and wounded his mother following an argument in their Pennsylvania home.
Matthew Hox was captured around 3 a.m. Friday in a wooded area not far from the Tinicum home, several hours after the shootings occurred. It wasn’t immediately clear what charges the 31-yearold would face.
Hox’s 77-year-old father, Henry Hox, was pronounced dead at the scene. His 62-year-old mother, Donna Hox, was being treated at a hospital.
Authorities say it’s not clear what the family was arguing about or what spurred the shooting, which occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday. The gun that apparently was used in the shootings was recovered in the residence.
No other injuries were reported. It wasn’t immediately known if anyone else was in the home at the time
Crash involving car, 4 tractor-trailers shutters highway
LOWER SAUCON, PA. >> A crash involving four tractor-trailers and another vehicle on an interstate highway in eastern Pennsylvania has left at least one person seriously injured.
The accident occurred around 2 a.m. Friday in the eastbound lanes of I-78 in Lower Saucon.
Authorities say one tractor-trailer landed on top of a car, while another truck went down an embankment. Another tractortrailer split open, causing drums to spill out on the highway.
At least one person was seriously injured in the crash and was being treated at a hospital. But their name and further details on their condition were not immediately available.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Authorities say heavy rains were falling at the time, and the accident shut down I-78 in both directions.
Minor injuries reported in school bus, pickup truck crash
PITTSBURGH >> Authorities say a school bus with students aboard has collided with a pickup truck in Pittsburgh, leaving some students with minor injuries.
The accident occurred around 7 a.m. Friday.
A Pittsburgh school district spokeswoman said seven students were on the bus and were headed to an elementary school. All the students were evaluated at the scene by emergency responders and some students suffered minor injuries, though further details were not immediately available. It didn’t appear that either driver was injured.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Hamilton’s First Bank gets funds to help it reopen as museum
PHILADELPHIA >> Pennsylvania’s governor has announced an $8 million grant to help reopen the First Bank of the United States as a museum.
Gov. Tom Wolf was at the First Bank in Philadelphia Friday to announce the funding to restore the bank founded by Alexander Hamilton in the 1790s.
The Democrat says the project “will help to restore Philadelphia’s rightful place in the remarkable Hamilton story that has captured the nation’s curiosity.”
The building, not far from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, has been closed to the public for years and is owned by the National Park Service.
The total cost to rehabilitate the neoclassical building is expected to reach about $26 million. Other funding is coming from the park service and private donors.