Suspects in 2 armed carjackings outside Philadelphia lived at St. Francis & St. Vincent Homes, police say
The suspects in two armed carjackings in Bensalem this week lived at St. Francis and St. Vincent Homes for Children, police say.
Daniel Rosa, 15, and Tharyn Battis Jr., 18, have been arrested and charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and other charges in connection with two carjackings, Bensalem Township police said in a statement. Rosa is being tried as an adult.
The first incident happened around 4:15 a.m. Monday when a resident of Oak Court in Bensalem said she was in her car at home when a man tapped on the window with a gun and told her to give him her phone and walk away, according to police. The man got in the car, a white Honda Pilot, and sped away with another passenger, police said.
Police later found the car unoccupied in Oak Court.
Police then responded to a report of a car theft in progress at Magnolia Court around 5 a.m. on Tuesday. By the time officers arrived, a Toyota Rav 4 had already been stolen. Police checked cameras and license plate readers to find the car and then attempted to stop it at Street and Mechanicsville roads. The car's driver rammed the side of a police van and fled, police said.
Police pursued the car and the passenger — later identified as Battis — got out and ran into a wooded area. That's when police took him into custody at gunpoint and found he had a stolen gun.
Police recovered the unoccupied Toyota later in the 300 block of Penguin Drive.
Police later arrested Rosa, who they say was driving the Toyota, at his home. Police said Battis and Rosa committed the Monday carjacking as well.
Rosa was remanded to the Bucks County Youth Center, and Battis was remanded to Bucks County Correctional Facility.
Bensalem police said this was just the latest in a series of incidents linked to residents of St. Francis and St. Vincent residents, which they describe as a home for youth who commit crimes and are court-ordered to live there. Multiple residents "went AWOL simultaneously" early Monday morning in the hours before the first carjacking, according to police.
Bensalem police said they are focusing on residents of the facility in their investigations into a recent uptick in crimes in the Brookwood and Eddington sections of the township, specifically car break-ins and thefts.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which operates St. Francis and St. Vincent Homes, said the organization has "has maintained a collaborative and productive relationship with the Bensalem Police Department over the course of many years. We remain committed to working with law enforcement as partners in community safety."
"In the event that an individual is missing from campus for more than 30 minutes without permission, appropriate reports are filed," the statement said in part. "These include notifications to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as the Bensalem Police Department. To the best of our knowledge only one individual was found to be absent from campus without permission during the early morning hours of Tuesday, December 3rd. All appropriate procedures noted above were followed upon that discovery."
Serving the needs of young people and "maintaining a positive relationship" with neighbors in Bensalem remain "top priorities," the statement said. Twenty-three people are part of the program at this time, the spokesperson said.
Bensalem police said residents should be vigilant and call 911 if they see any suspicious activity.
