Tag Archives: #Crime&Punishment

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You in a heap o’ trouble, boy!

It appears that having a father who is a well-paid, high-powered attorney, being a college athlete, and living in a $1.4 million home in Lower Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania, doesn’t somehow protect you from being an absolute idiot. The trouble is that it has prevented him from paying much of a penalty for his previous crimes.

Lower Gwynedd man charged with attempted murder of a police officer

Officials say Dalton Lee Janiczek, 21, struck a Plymouth Township police officer with his car multiple times before fleeing the scene.

by Denali Sagner | Saturday, October 25, 2025 | 8:25 PM EDT

A Lower Gwynedd man has been charged with the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer after authorities say he struck a Plymouth Township police officer with his car multiple times before fleeing the scene.

Dalton Lee Janiczek, 21, faces multiple felony charges, including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.

Around 10:19 a.m. on Friday, Janiczek fled in a white Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon from an attempted traffic stop by Springfield Township police officers, according to police. The officers did not pursue but instead broadcast information about the incident to neighboring police departments.

No, of course The Philadelphia Inquirer did not publish the mugshot of the accused; that’s from Patch.com’s Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s local site. But the story caught the attention of London’s Daily Mail as well.

Young Mr Janiczek has apparently racked up a bunch of previous charges.

The suspect lives with his parents, including his high-flying lawyer father Lee Janiczek, at their $1.4 million home in Ambler, Pennsylvania . His father is a partner at Lewis Brisbois LLC, representing corporations and insurance companies with their liability claims. He did not respond for comment when contacted by the Daily Mail. Janiczek is a student at Loyola Marymount University. He’s part of the college rowing team, and previously he was a member of La Salle College High School’s crew team all four years.

The seasoned athlete was named captain senior year, and won multiple awards for his sport during his time in school. Despite his sporting and academic successes, the 21-year-old has wracked up an incredible rap sheet, with 11 criminal charges since 2023. Nearly all of his arrests are connected to reckless driving, including speeding, driving an unregistered vehicle, misusing plate cards, careless driving, driving without a license, and parking illegally.

The Patch.com story stated that Mr Janiczek was driving a Mercedes G Wagon, a luxury vehicle retailing at around $148,000, but, according to the Daily Mail, can cost up to $186,000. The Inquirer story noted that the “Whitpain Township Police Department were ‘familiar with Janiczek’ and his SUV,” though there was no current warrant for his arrest.

Being known to the police is never a good thing, and one wonders how much his father’s money kept him from suffering more serious consequences in the past. Now Mr Janiczek is facing charges for the attempted murder of a police officer, and could wind up spending twenty years in the state penitentiary.

He won’t of course, because his father’s money means a top criminal defense attorney, and almost certainly some form of plea bargain. Fortunately, this is a Montgomery County case, so Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner can’t ‘negotiate’ a completely suspended sentence, but if he is convicted of the crimes for which he has been charged, several years as a guest of the Commonwealth need to be part of the sentence. If he does not do some hard time, young Mr Janiczek will learn the wrong lesson, that his daddy’s money means he will get away with anything.

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You in a heap o’ trouble, girl!

Precious Hamilton is only fifteen years old, but she just might spend the next couple of decades in prison. Her initial claims are that it was all an accident, but someone is still stone-cold graveyard dead.

15-year-old girl charged with third-degree murder in fatal shooting of Abington teen

Abington Township police arrested Precious Hamilton in a shooting that killed 17-year-old Baseem “Seyven” Baker

by Jesse Bunch | Tuesday, October 7, 2025 | 5:18 PM EDT

Precious Hamilton, mugshot via Fox 29 News.

Montgomery County prosecutors charged a 15-year-old girl with third-degree murder Tuesday in the shooting death of an Abington teenager in his family’s apartment on Monday afternoon.

Precious Hamilton, of Eddystone, was arrested that evening by Abington Township police in connection with a shooting that left 17-year-old Baseem “Seyven” Baker dead from a gunshot wound to the head, prosecutors said.

No, of course young Miss Hamilton’s mugshot was not published by The Philadelphia Inquirer, but a quick Google search found it for me, from more than one source.

Police arrived at Baker’s apartment on the 100 block of Old York Road to find the teen dead in his bedroom, authorities said.

Police said Hamilton had been staying at the apartment over the weekend and had shown Baker the gun, a small-caliber revolver, on Sunday when “dry firing” the weapon out of Baker’s window, according to videos and a photo recovered from Baker’s iPad.

Though the article does not state it explicitly, reporter Jesse Bunch’s article makes it appear that the gun was Miss Hamilton’s. The charges filed, including possession of a firearm by a minor and carrying a firearm without a license, support that reading. What, I have to ask, was a 15-year-old girl doing carrying a firearm?

Further down:

During an interview with Hamilton and her mother, police said, Hamilton told investigators she shot Baker accidentally after the gun was left in the cocked position from Sunday.

She told investigators she grabbed the revolver while going to pack her belongings, and that while grabbing the weapon in a “rapid fashion,” the gun discharged and struck Baker, who was on the bed and fell to the floor, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Hamilton’s arrest.

Hamilton told investigators she and Baker had previously dated, then maintained a friendship for about a year, according to the affidavit.

I’m surprised that Mr Bunch included that last paragraph. What he did not include in his article, though it ought to be obvious from the fact that the alleged killer’s name was released, is that Miss Hamilton has been charged as an adult.

Young Miss Hamilton has been charged with third-degree Murder, Title 18 §2502(c), which, under Title 18 §1102(d) carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. She has also been charged with Involuntary Manslaughter, which, under Title 18 §2504(b) is a first degree misdemeanor, which under Title 30 §923(a)(7) carries a penalty of a fine of between $1,500 and $10,000, and the possibility of imprisonment for not more than five years.

Mr Bunch should have included that in his story, because there’s a huge difference between third degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. My guess is that young Miss Hamilton will be offered an involuntary manslaughter plea bargain, if there is no evidence that she was carrying a firearm because she was part of a gang. Since this was in Montgomery County, and not Philadelphia, District Attorney Larry Krasner can’t simply dismiss the charges. We are no longer surprised when we read about 15-year-old boys carrying firearms; perhaps we shouldn’t be as surprised as we are that some 15-year-old girls are now packing heat.

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You in a heap o’ trouble, boy! Yet another teacher in trouble over sex with minors

Another day, another teacher accused of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday morning, my good friend Matt Van Swol noted that that Jesse Cassino, 42, a former Teacher of the Year in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, has been arrested on multiple charges of sexual exploitation of minors over child pornography. And Thursday afternoon, The Philadelphia Inquirer had this story:

Paul Green will close rock schools, following accusations of sexual misconduct involving a teen student

Continue reading →

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You in a heap o’ trouble, boy! Has lenient treatment really done the bad guys any favors?

We have previously reported on the mass shooting in the Gray’s Ferry section of the City of Brotherly Love, and now The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported an arrest in the case.

One man has been arrested for his role in Grays Ferry mass shooting that left 12 shot

Terrell Frazier is among multiple gunmen who shot 12 people on the 1500 bock of South Etting Street, police said.

by Ellie Rushing | Thursday, August 7, 2025 | 10:10 AM EDT

Philadelphia police on Thursday said they have arrested one of the gunmen involved in a mass shooting in Grays Ferry that left three young men dead and nine others wounded. Continue reading →

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You in a heap o’ trouble, boy! I guess that previous lenient treatment didn't work all that well

When Steve Keeley of Fox 29 News tweeted out the surveillance photos of a sexual assault suspect in Center City Philadelphia, I naturally checked The Philadelphia Inquirer, and noted that their story didn’t include the photos. Well, to give credit where credit is due, the newspaper surprised me and updated that story to include the photos released by the Philadelphia Police Department.

Then, earlier on Hiroshima Day, the Police identified him, and Mr Keeley tweeted out that information, including a photo which was taken from his driver’s license records. It didn’t take too long after that for an atomic bomb exploded on the suspect, who was apprehended Wednesday afternoon:

A 37-year-old man was arrested for a string of sexual assaults in Center City, police said

Police said Dynel Walker was taken into custody in connection with six attacks in Center City and South Philadelphia in the past three weeks.

by Ellie Rushing | Wednesday, August 6, 2025 | 12:13 PM EDT | Updated: 5:19 PM EDT

A Northeast Philadelphia man was arrested Wednesday after police said he committed a string of sexual assaults in Center City over the last month, attacking women as they walked or entered their homes.

Dynel Walker, 37, of the 13000 block of Philmont Avenue in Somerton, was taken into custody in Montgomery County to face multiple counts of aggravated assault, indecent assault, and false imprisonment in connection with assaults on six women within three weeks in Center City and the Schuylkill section of South Philadelphia, police said.

Capt. Margo Alleyne-Parker of the Special Victims Unit said she believed Walker likely attacked additional women who had not yet come forward.

Walker’s arrest comes just days after police had asked for the public’s help in identifying a man responsible for a rash of assaults, and whose behavior was escalating. An anonymous tipster then told police that Walker resembled the photo officials had released of the suspect.

So, publishing photos of suspects does help in their identification and apprehension!

If you want to read the details of Mr Walker’s (alleged) crimes, you can get that at the inquirer’s original. This is the part that I see as important:

Court records show that Walker has been arrested multiple times over the last decade in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs, albeit for relatively low-level crimes.

Between 2011 and 2016, he was in and out of jail in Philadelphia for charges including drug possession and improper use of a motor vehicle, according to the records.

In Bucks County in 2021, he was convicted of disorderly conduct. And most recently, in Montgomery County in 2023, he pleaded guilty to identity theft and receiving stolen property, and was sentenced to five years’ probation.

Mr Keeley noted that Mr Walker had 21 prior arrests, though none were for sexual assault. And that makes me wonder: why, in 2023, was he allowed to plead guilty in Montgomery County and receive five years probation? By that time, with his record, surely someone in the prosecutor’s office should have realized that Mr Walker is not a very nice guy. Under Pennsylvania Title 18 § 4120, Identity theft can be either a first-degree misdemeanor, if the value of the property stolen using identity theft is less than $2,000, (c)(1)(i), or a third-degree felony id valued at more than $2,000, (c)(1)(ii). Under Title 18 §106(b)(4), a third-degree felony has a maximum sentence of seven years in the state penitentiary. Both offenses were charged as third-degree felonies.

The media have not reported all of the particulars, but if Montgomery County had enough evidence, couldn’t the distinguished Mr Walker have been behind bars when the crimes with which he has been recently charged were committed? Shouldn’t a man with that many priors not be given a break? Shouldn’t a man with that many priors be locked up for as long as the law allows?

It’s simple: if Mr Walker is the man who committed the sexual assaults for which he has been charged, and if he had been behind bars at SCI Greene, those six sexual assaults would not have occurred!

If Mr Walker committed the sexual assaults with which he has been charged, one thing is obvious: five years probation neither punished him nor deterred him from committing other crimes. There comes a point at which the bad guys need to be locked up, and that point is long before 21 separate arrests.

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The Hassan Elliot case finally comes to a close The scumbag cop-killer is sentenced to 75 years in federal prison

Philadelphia Police Officers and FOP members block District Attorney Larry Krasner from entering the hospital to meet with slain Police Corporal James O’Connor’s family.

We have previously reported on the murder of Philadelphia Police Corporal James O’Connor IV by Hassan Elliot, a career criminal even by the age of 21, who could have been behind bars at the time but the city’s George Soros-sponsored, criminal-loving and police-hating District Attorney, Larry Krasner, who was just renominated by the Democrats for a third term letting criminals loose, let him slide on probation violations which could have kept him behind bars when he was already in custody.

On Friday, March 13, 2020, Corporal O’Connor and other members of the SWAT team were trying to arrest Mr Elliot, then 21, and Khalif Sears, 18, for a murder and robbery the previous March, when Mr Elliot started firing through the door.

Of course, the city’s police officers knew all about Let ’em Loose Larry, and blocked his attempt to visit Cpl O’Connor’s family at the hospital. They were not going to allow him to make a show of sympathy for an officer that his policies had gotten killed.

Well, now the case has come to closure: Continue reading →

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You in not that big a heap o’ trouble, boy!

Stephen Jones, photo via Facebook, under Section 27A of the Copyright Act.

Normally my crime articles go under the heading “You in a heap o’ trouble, boy,” or sometimes “girl,” in homage to that iconic southern expression, but, alas!, Mr Stephen Jones, formerly Democratic Leader of Philadelphia’s 59th Ward, is in far less of a heap o’ trouble than he should be for his offense.

I guess that he has friends in high places!

Philly ward leader convicted of sexually assaulting his granddaughter is sentenced to about a month in jail

Continue reading →

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You in a heap o’ trouble, boy!

As Leroy Jethro Gibbs once said, on NCIS, when he was ‘questioning’ some young college kids, he “will not do well in prison.”

I have to admit, when I first saw this tweet from Steve Keeley of Fox 29 News, my first thought was, “This guy had to go after underaged girls?”

U.S. Marshals capture Pa. man accused of sexually assaulting underage girl in NJ

Shane Hennesy, 22, of Delaware County, Pa., is accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Pine Hill, New Jersey

By David Chang • Friday, April 25, 2025

The U.S. Marshals captured a Pennsylvania man who had been a fugitive for more than two months after he sexually assaulted an underage girl in New Jersey, officials said. Continue reading →

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Could Daniel Pearson be a conservative? Are there any moderate Democrats left?

Is a member of the Right Eing Extremists of the United States of America allowed to have a favorite liberal writer who I don’t use as a blog whipping boy? I have twice asked if The Philadelphia Inquirer’s primary editorial writer, Daniel Pearson, could actually be a conservative.

He knows that I have asked that question, and certainly denies it, definitely opposed to President Trump and most Republicans, but he is at least in some ways the kind of Democrat conservatives can appreciate. He’s certainly not a loony leftist like his colleagues Will Bunch and the rest of the newspaper’s cabal of columnists! While he seems to support some silliness like the city’s silly driving while black driving equality law, he does support the enforcement of law.

Fake, expired, and obscured car tags threaten public safety | Editorial

Continue reading →