Rydal-Meadowbrook Civic Association

Drug and Alcohol Abuse Present Safety Risks
Police briefs were published in the Times Chronicle for the week of April 19, 2012. There were a total of 25 cases in the report. Of those cases, there were seven DUIs, three cases of public drunkeness and six cases of possession. Substance abuse represent 64% of all cases for the week. These cases should raise questions about safety in Abington, and remind us of the value provided by our Police Department.

Public drunkenness … – , 55, of Summit Avenue, Jenkintown, was charged with public drunkenness March 29 after police observed him stumbling along Easton Road and East Avenue at 1:11 p.m., police said.

Public drunkenness … – , 53, of Washington Lane, Jenkintown, was charged with public drunkenness March 30 after he was observed screaming and waving his arms around at the corner of Old York Road and Rodman Avenue at 4:23 p.m., police said.

Disorderly conduct … – , 26, of Stirling Street, Philadelphia, was charged with disorderly conduct March 30 after police stopped his vehicle at the Huntingdon Valley Shopping Center at 5:07 p.m. and found a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle, police said.

 Public drunkenness … – , 27, of Duffield Street, Willow Grove, was charged with public drunkenness March 31 when police found her at 3:06 a.m. on the 300 block of Easton Road, in her vehicle asleep with the engine running, police said. She was highly intoxicated, police said.

Retail theft … – , 18, Somerset Street, Philadelphia, was charged with retail theft March 31 after a witness observed her concealing $121 worth of merchandise in a bag at 5:25 p.m. at the Sears in Willow Grove Park mall and leave the store without paying, police said.

DUI … – , 30, of Lafayette Avenue, Abington, was charged with driving under the influence after police stopped Lundquist’s vehicle for traveling at a high speed and tailgating another vehicle on Susquehanna Road and Clemens Avenue Jan. 30 at 11:04 p.m., police said. Lundquist failed field sobriety tests and was transported to Holy Redeemer Hospital, police said, where lab results showed that her BAC was 0.149 percent, police said.

DUI … – , 23, of Lynne Avenue, Hatboro, was charged with driving under the influence, possessing a small amount of marijuana and failure to stop at a red light Feb. 5 when police observed him make an illegal U turn on Old York Road and Wheaton Avenue at 1:12 a.m., police said. Authorities found clear plastic baggies with a green substance in it that had the appearance of marijuana and rolled cigarettes in the ash tray, police said. Brackin failed field sobriety tests and was transported to Holy Redeemer Hospital where lab tests revealed that his BAC was 0.129 percent and his blood tested positive for marijuana, police said.

Possession … – , 52, of Rugby Street, Philadelphia, was charged with possession of a controlled or counterfeit substance and possession of drug paraphernalia after police stopped his vehicle on Old York Road and Rydal Way Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. and found a glass pipe, a homemade pipe, and a clear plastic bag containing traces of white residue, which lab tests revealed to be heroin, police said.

DUI … – , 63, of Barrett Road, Willow Grove, was charged with driving under the influence, failure to drive within his lane, driving with a suspended license and careless driving Feb. 29 after police stopped his vehicle at 2:50 a.m. on the 1800 block of Easton Road and smelled alcohol emitting from his breath, police said. He was transported to the Willow Grove Fastrack where he refused to complete the breath tests, police said.

DUI … – , 49, of Tyson Avenue, Glenside, was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving Feb. 26 after police stopped her vehicle on Jenkintown Road and Garfield Avenue at 5:57 p.m. after observing her vehicle swerve and run into a curb, police said. Keenan failed field sobriety tests and was transported to Holy Redeemer Hospital where lab tests showed that her BAC was 0.201 percent, police said.

DUI … – , 24, of Franklin Avenue, Cheltenham, was charged with driving under the influence, improper use of turn signals and careless driving after police observed her speeding and turning without using turn signals on Jenkintown Road and Keswick Avenue March 2 at 10:43 p.m., police said. Bryne failed field sobriety tests and was transported to Holy Redeemer Hospital where lab tests showed her BAC was 0.151 percent and that she also had traces of marijuana, valium and other sedatives in her blood, police said.

Disorderly conduct … – , 34, of Easton Road, Roslyn, was charged with disorderly conduct March 3 after revealing an unregistered hand gun to a customer in the parking lot of Wawa on the 2000 block of Susquehanna Road at 4:03 p.m., police said.

Possession … – , 22, of Swamp Road, Furlong, was charged with the possession of a small amount of marijuana April 7 at 8:29 p.m. after he admitted to police that he had marijuana in his pants when they pulled him over for running a stop sign, police said. Lab tests showed the marijuana weighted 3.24 grams, police said.

DUI … – , 33, of Comly Street, Philadelphia, was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and driving without a license March 18 after police observed him switch lanes without using his turn signal on the 1600 block of Old York Road at 1:10 p.m., police said. Schwartz had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes and was transported to Holy Redeemer Hospital where lab tests indicated that he had traces of cocaine, benzoylecgonine and morphine in his system, police said.

Possession … – , 34, of Valley View Circle, Norristown, was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without registration March 14 after police stopped his vehicle on Old York and Keith roads, police said. Authorities found a marijuana pipe with marijuana residue and a prescription bottle that contained marijuana in the vehicle, police said. Kristen Woods, 28, of Indian Guide Road, Lafayette Hill, a passenger in the vehicle, was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, police said.

Possession … – , 20, of Byberry Road, Hatboro, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and operating a vehicle without rear lights after his vehicle was stopped at Easton Road and Mount Carmel Avenue March 15 at 11:52 p.m., police said. Police smelled marijuana emitting from Zorroli’s breath and after searching his vehicle found a marijuana grinder and wooden box both containing marijuana residue, police said.

Possession … – , 20, of Byberry Road, Hatboro, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and operating a vehicle without rear lights after his vehicle was stopped at Easton Road and Mount Carmel Avenue March 15 at 11:52 p.m., police said. Police smelled marijuana emitting from Zorroli’s breath and after searching his vehicle found a marijuana grinder and wooden box both containing marijuana residue, police said.

DUI … – , 32, of Grovania Avenue, Abington, was charged with driving under the influence, failure to drive within the lane and careless driving March 26 after authorities found her vehicle on the side of the road with right side bumper torn off, police said. Robinson admitted to drinking and was transported to the Willow Grove Fastrack where she refused to provide a breath test, police said.

Possession …. – , 26, of Marilyn Drive, Hatboro, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under suspension March 28 on Jenkintown and Edge Hill roads at 9:34 p.m. after police stopped her vehicle and found a white plastic bag which had heroin residue on it, police said.

Retail theft … – , 28, of Keenar Road, Bainbridge, was charged with retail theft, receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia April 2 after concealing $393.85 worth of merchandise in bags at the Kmart in Willow Grove and leaving the store without paying, police said. Authorities found plastic Ziploc bags on Nauman with cocaine and marijuana residue in them, police said.

Weapon … – , 20, of Arnaud Avenue, Glenside, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful activities and windshield obstruction April 3 after police stopped Harrell’s vehicle on Jenkintown Road and Cadwalader Avenue at 1:40 a.m. and uncovered a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and glassine bags containing marijuana, police said.

Retail theft … – , 22, of Municipal Road, Lehighton, was charged with retail theft, receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia April 4 at 7:30 p.m. after concealing merchandise at the Sears in the Willow Grove Park mall and exiting the store without paying, police said. Police uncovered small baggies on Mark containing heroin residue, police said.

Theft … – , 26, of Penn Avenue, Hatfield, was charged with theft from a motor vehicle and public drunkenness April 6 after police found Cunningham hiding under a vehicle on 2000 block of Fernwood Road at 4:30 p.m., police said. Cunningham had broken into a vehicle that was unlocked and retrieved a dollar from a wallet, police said. When a witness approached him, he fled, police said.

Retail theft … Macy’s employee – , of Whitehall Drive, Willow Grove, was charged with retail theft, receiving stolen property and theft by unlawful taking March 4 at 7:09 p.m. at the Macy’s in Willow Grove Park mall after a witness observed Register put merchandise in Macy’s bags and give them to his friends who left store without paying, police said.

Retail theft … – , 22, of Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia, was charged with retail theft and receiving stolen property April 7 at 6:06 p.m. after he concealed $229.97 worth of merchandise at Sears in the Willow Grove Park mall and left the store without paying, police said.

The following map is available on the Abington Police Department web site as a result of a search of DUI incidents in 2011:

There were 182 DUI cases in 2011 in Abington Township. The most dangerous routes included Old York Road, Easton Road, Fitzwatertown Road, Edge Hill Road and Jenkintown Road.
According to the Century Council, there were 50,177 people charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2009. There were also 406 alcohol impaired fatalities in the state that same year. Mother Against Drunk Driving reports that an average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before first arrest and kids who start drinking young are seven times more likely to be in an alcohol-related crash. 

Criminal activity also includes Drug Act Violations. These include possession of a controlled substance such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, amphetamine, ecstacy and marijuana. Based on a search of the Abington Police Department web site, the following citation were mapped in 2011 alone:
There were a total of 213 Drug Act Violations in Abington in 2011.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (part of NIH), the principal concern regarding drugged driving is that driving under the influence of any drug that acts on the brain could impair one’s motor skills, reaction time, and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk but also passengers and others who share the road.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2007 National Roadside Survey, more than 11 percent tested positive for illicit drugs. Results from NIDA’s Monitoring the Future survey indicate that in 2007, more than 12 percent of high school seniors admitted to driving under the influence of marijuana in the 2 weeks prior to the survey. 24.8 percent among young adults aged 21 to 25 are found to have driven under the influence of an illicit drug or alcohol. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among young people aged 16 to 19.     

In addition to adult criminal activity, the following map is the result of a search of underage drinking citations on the Abington Police Department web site in 2011:
There were 54 incidents of underage drinking in Abington in 2011.