A woman stole more than $82,000 from the sale of her grandmother’s Pennsylvania home and spent some of it on a cruise and a new home, investigators said.

Jacquelyn Sams, 58, of Pleasant Grove, Alabama, was arraigned on felony theft and forgery charges on Monday, Oct. 26, according to court documents Daily Voice obtained on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Sams was designated as an agent through a power of attorney and received two checks during the April 2, 2025, settlement for her grandmother’s home on Emerald Street in Harrisburg, investigators said.

She forged a signature and endorsed both checks for herself, investigators said, citing bank records detailed in an affidavit of probable cause.

After the checks were deposited, Sams transferred most of the money into her own account, investigators said. In total, she is accused of stealing $82,167.55.

Some of the money went toward a new home, a cruise, and other personal purchases, according to investigators.

The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office filed the criminal complaint on Thursday, Oct. 22, court records show.

Sams is charged with one count each of forgery involving an unauthorized act in writing, a second-degree felony, and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, a third-degree felony.

Magisterial District Judge Mikaela M. Sloan set bail at $10,000 unsecured during Sams’ arraignment. She was released, according to court records.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, before Magisterial District Judge J. Matthew Pianka.

A woman died eight days after she was struck by a vehicle in Pennsylvania, authorities announced on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Mary A. Pavlik, 81 of Lehighton, was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest at 11:05 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, according to the Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio.

Pavlik was a pedestrian when she was struck at the intersection of Iron and South Third streets in Lehighton Borough, Carbon County, at approximately 9:20 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18, Buglio said.

Her cause of death was complications of multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner was ruled an accident.

The release did not provide details about the driver or the circumstances leading up to the collision.

The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office, Lehighton Borough Police Department and Carbon County District Attorney’s Office are investigating.

Details about Pavlik’s life were not immediately available. Loved ones are invited to email jpikora@dailyvoice.com.

A young child was rescued after falling into a septic pipe in Penny on Tuesday evening, Oct. 27, according to a dispatch and officials.

Emergency crews responded to the 300 block of Snyder Avenue in West Goshen Township, Chester County where a 5:22 p.m. dispatch entry reported a conscious 3-year-old trapped in a septic pipe approximately 16 inches wide.

Officials described the child as between 3 and 4 years old and said the child had fallen approximately one foot into the pipe.

The County Rescue Task Force was dispatched, and township assistance was requested for a backhoe and pump truck, officials said.

The child was freed by 5:52 p.m. and evaluated by emergency medical personnel at the scene.

Officials did not immediately report any injuries.

Police and emergency responders are continuing to investigate how the incident occurred.

A man took an officer’s TASER and tried to pull a service pistol from its holster during a struggle that injured two officers on a Pennsylvania trail, police announced Monday, Oct. 26.

Dallas Whitt Anderson-James was taken into custody on the Montgomery County Cross County Trail near Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Township on Wednesday, Oct. 21, according to township police.

The encounter came hours after officers were called to the 2000 block of Chemical Road at approximately 4:54 p.m. for a report that Anderson-James was repeatedly contacting a woman despite a valid protection from abuse order, police said.

Officers confirmed the attempted communications and spoke directly with Anderson-James, telling him he was violating the order, an arrest warrant was pending, and he needed to stay away from the block, according to the release.

The woman called back at approximately 7:09 p.m., reporting that Anderson-James was walking along Chemical Road, police said.

Officers found him on the nearby trail, where he refused commands to stop and remove his hand from his pocket, according to police.

When officers tried to arrest him on the protection order violation warrant, Anderson-James resisted, and they went to the ground during the struggle, police said.

Anderson-James gained possession of an officer’s TASER, prompting officers to fight to regain control of it, according to the release.

He then grabbed the grip of an officer’s service pistol and tried to pull it from the holster, police said. The officer secured the holster and firearm, preventing him from removing the weapon.

Anderson-James continued resisting until officers secured him in handcuffs, according to police.

Two officers were injured. One was treated and released. The other was released from the hospital but remained out of work recovering from an arm injury as of Monday’s announcement, police said.

Anderson-James faces felony aggravated assault and two felony counts of disarming a law enforcement officer, along with misdemeanor charges of stalking, simple assault, evading arrest or detention on foot, and recklessly endangering another person.

He also faces two separate criminal complaints for violating the protection order, according to police.

Magisterial District Judge Patrick O. Krouse arraigned Anderson-James on Thursday, Oct. 22. Bail was set at $100,000 cash in the assault and disarming case, plus $10,000 cash on each protection order complaint.

Anderson-James was unable to post bail and was taken to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, police said.

A preliminary hearing in the assault and disarming case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, before Magisterial District Judge Jodi Griffis. The protection order complaints were sent to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Whitemarsh Township, Conshohocken, and West Conshohocken police assisted at the scene, along with the Plymouth Community Ambulance Association.

A woman struck a health care worker in the face at a Pennsylvania hospital, police announced on Monday, Oct. 26.

Tataityanna Mati Harris, 23, of Harrisburg was arrested following the assault at WellSpan Hospital, 169 Martin Avenue in Ephrata Borough, police said.

Officers responded at 11:17 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, after the assault was reported. They interviewed the health care worker and reviewed hospital security footage, which showed Harris striking the worker in the face, according to the Ephrata Police Department.

Harris was charged with one count of second-degree felony aggravated assault, according to court documents Daily Voice obtained on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Magisterial District Judge Torrey J. Landis arraigned Harris on Monday, Oct. 19, setting bail at $50,000 cash. She was committed to Lancaster County Prison after being unable to post bail, records show.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2, before Landis.

Police did not release details about the worker’s injuries or what led to the assault.

A horse fled after a minivan rear-ended a horse-drawn carriage, sending it into a utility pole and leaving its 85-year-old operator injured on Monday, Oct. 12, Pennsylvania State Police announced on Monday, Oct. 27.

Both vehicles were traveling east on White Oak Road in Strasburg Township when the crash happened in front of 2670 White Oak Road shortly after noon, according to PA State Police.

Jeffrey J. Doll, 64, of Quarryville, was driving a black 2012 minivan when he struck the rear of the carriage, police said.

The impact caused the horse to panic, pulling the carriage into a utility pole. The horse then became unhitched and fled the scene, troopers said.

The carriage operator, an 85-year-old Willow Street man, was taken by Lancaster EMS to Lancaster General Hospital for evaluation of suspected minor injuries, according to police.

Doll was not injured. His minivan was towed by Paradise Customs Towing, police said.

Troopers cited Doll for violating Pennsylvania’s requirement to drive at a safe speed, according to the release.

Police did not say whether the horse was located.

A Pennsylvania man whose driver’s license was already suspended until 2117 has been sentenced to state prison for his sixth DUI conviction — and now faces an even longer suspension, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday, Oct. 26.

Steven C. Radtke, 63, of the 1800 block of Rhoda Avenue in West Donegal Township, could see his suspension stretch into the 2120s once PennDOT calculates the additional penalty for his latest conviction, prosecutors said.

Radtke was arrested during a June 2025 traffic stop in the 1100 block of River Road in East Donegal Township. His license was suspended because of a prior DUI conviction and subsequent offenses for driving with a suspended license, according to the release.

He refused a chemical test, prosecutors said.

Radtke pleaded guilty without a sentencing agreement to driving under the influence of alcohol, two counts of driving with a suspended license, and one count of being a habitual offender.

Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker sentenced him to one to two years in state prison on Sept. 4.

Assistant District Attorney Kyle Linardo sought an aggravated-range sentence, walking the court through Radtke’s 38-page driving record, which documented dozens of Vehicle Code violations dating back to 1979.

Although this was Radtke’s first DUI conviction in a decade, his five previous DUI convictions date back to the early 1990s, prosecutors said.

His record also included 15 prior convictions for driving with a suspended operating privilege, 29 for driving while suspended because of a DUI, and one for driving while suspended because of a DUI with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.02% or greater.

Radtke sought to have his prison sentence modified within days of sentencing. Reinaker denied that motion on Oct. 1.

Susquehanna Regional Police Officer Joshua Rudy filed the charges.

A gun photo posted on social media led police to a Long Island high school, where staff found a firearm, knife and magazine in a 16-year-old student’s backpack, authorities said.

The Smithtown teen was arrested at Smithtown West High School on Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to Suffolk County Police.

Fourth Precinct patrol officers responded to the school at 100 Central Road after a 911 caller reported that a student had posted a picture with a gun on social media, police said.

School staff searched the student’s backpack and found the weapons and magazine at approximately 1:55 p.m., according to the release.

The student, whose name was not released, was charged with:

• Second-degree criminal possession of a weapon: loaded firearm on school grounds.
• Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.
• Criminal possession of a firearm.
• Fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property: firearms.

He is scheduled to appear as an adolescent offender at First District Court Youth Part in Central Islip on Wednesday, Oct. 28, police said.

The release did not detail whether any threats were made or how the student obtained the firearm.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad at 631-854-8451.

A killer who hunted homeless men on the streets of DC has been convicted of murder and hate crimes.

Gerald Brevard III, 35, of Washington, DC, was convicted by a jury on Tuesday, Oct. 27, for a series of brutal attacks that left one man dead and two others injured in March 2022.

The attacks unfolded over six days, with Brevard targeting men living on the streets of Northeast DC, including one who was sleeping beneath a bridge and another who was lying in bed at his encampment.

The violence began on March 3, 2022, when Brevard shot a homeless man who was asleep beneath a bridge on New York Avenue NE, according to evidence presented by prosecutors.

Five days later, on March 8, Brevard struck again, this time targeting a man at his encampment on H Street NE.

The victim was shot six times in the head, chest, and body, suffering serious injuries that prosecutors said were permanent.

The following day, March 9, Brevard carried out his deadliest attack.

Morgan Holmes, 54, was lying in bed at his encampment on New York Avenue NE when Brevard stabbed and shot him, killing him.

But the violence did not end with Holmes' death.

After the fatal attack, Brevard set Holmes' body and encampment on fire, according to prosecutors.

All three victims were experiencing homelessness at the time, and jurors determined that Brevard's attacks constituted hate crimes based on their actual or perceived homelessness.

Brevard was convicted of 16 charges, including:

• First-degree murder while armed;
• Assault with intent to kill while armed;
• Aggravated assault while armed;
• Mayhem while armed;
• Multiple weapons offenses.

He was also found guilty of bias-related hate crimes based on the victims' perceived or actual homelessness. 

Brevard was arrested on March 15, 2022, and has been in custody since. 

“This defendant’s deliberate and violent attacks on vulnerable members of our community represent a grave breach of public safety and basic human dignity,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated. “Today’s convictions affirm that such brutality will be met with a firm and decisive response.” 

Brevard is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2027, before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz.

A Capital Region man violated an order of protection, stomped on the victim’s cellphone, and subjected them to unlawful physical contact, authorities said.

Raphael A. Germain, 36, of Wilton, was arrested after deputies responded to an active domestic incident on state Route 50 in Wilton around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office said.

Germain broke the victim’s cellphone, which was valued at more than $250, by stomping on it, deputies said. He also committed unlawful physical contact with the victim, according to the sheriff’s office.

Germain was charged with aggravated family offense, first-degree criminal contempt, and third-degree criminal mischief, all felonies, along with second-degree harassment, a violation, authorities said.

The aggravated family offense charge stems from an allegation that Germain committed a similar offense in the past five years, according to the sheriff’s office. A man with a matching name, age, and middle initial was arrested for stalking in Saratoga County in 2018 and petit larceny in 2021, according to prior reports.

Germain was arraigned and booked into Saratoga County jail, police said.