Three suspects, including a pair of parents, are accused of abandoning a 4-month-old infant at a crime scene in Pennsylvania to run from the cops after they got caught trying to steal cable wires.
Three people were caught by police using a saw to cut down an inactive Verizon cable on Meetinghouse Road in Upper Chichester, about 23 miles southwest of Philadelphia, early Monday morning.
Authorities say the crime was likely motivated by the prospect of making money off the materials inside the cables.
“The copper inside the cables is a hot item for the precious metals to be melted down and taken to wherever they can to get pawned,” Lt. Christopher Jones of the Upper Chichester Police Department told WPVI Action News.
As officers arrived at the scene, the three suspects fled in a Jeep and left behind a sedan that had cut cable wires and hand saws inside it. After impounding the sedan, officers noticed something moving in the backseat of the car.
“Once it was back here, our officers were checking the exterior of the car and noticed that a blanket in the backseat moved slightly,” Jones said.
Police removed the blanket and discovered a sleeping 4-month-old baby boy in the backseat of the car.
Soon after, the boy’s mother, Angelina Williams, 32, was arrested in connection with the cable theft.
Williams, who is the boy’s mother, did not mention that her baby was left in the vehicle, police said.
Authorities said two other suspects remain at large: 49-year-old Joseph Daniels, who police say is the baby’s father, and 47-year-old Ray Gibase. It was not known how Gibase knew the parents.
“Thank goodness that officer looked in there and saw something moving. It would’ve been a few hours before we executed a search warrant on it once the judge signed the paperwork,” Jones said.
Police said the baby was uninjured and is now in the care of his grandmother.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the two suspects who remain on the loose to contact the Upper Chichester Police Department.
