Woman assaulted, robbed in West Philly

1WOMAN ATTACKED

IN WEST PHILLY

A woman was savagely beaten, sexually assaulted and robbed in a West Philadelphia alley early yesterday morning, according to Special Victims Unit Capt. John Darby.

The 40-year-old victim was walking on 52nd Street near Arch about 3:20 a.m., when a man pulled her into an alley, beat her about the head, sexually assaulted her and robbed her of $40 before fleeing.

The victim, beaten so badly that one of her eyes was closed shut, was treated for her injuries at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

2UPS DRIVER ROBBED

IN CHESTER

A UPS driver who was making his rounds in Chester yesterday morning was held up at gunpoint and forced to drive to another location, where he was robbed of all his packages, police said.

About 11:46 a.m., the driver called police and said that he was delivering a package at 7th and Engle streets, near Veterans Memorial Park, when two men jumped in his truck, held him at gunpoint and forced him to drive to Bunting Street near Front, where two other men were lying in wait, police said.

There, the four men unloaded the packages from his truck and put them into an SUV and drove off, leaving the UPS driver at the scene unharmed, police said.

Tipsters are asked to call Chester police at 610-447- 8429.

3WAS MISSING MONEY IN UPPER DARBY BURNED?

Thousands of dollars are missing from the Upper Darby Police Department's evidence room, and Superintendent Michael Chitwood thinks that the money might have accidentally been burned along with other evidence that was supposed to be destroyed.

The township was forced to write an $8,005 check to a defendant after a judge ruled this year that police had illegally confiscated cash and drugs from his house in 2009.

Delaware County detectives are investigating how the money disappeared, but Chitwood said that a preliminary Internal Affairs investigation indicates that a civilian evidence custodian might have accidentally included it in an "evidence burn."

4... THESE CARS CERTAINLY WERE

Police are investigating the arson of seven vehicles in Wynnefield early yesterday morning. The torched cars were discovered just after 4:30 a.m. on Arlington Street near Georges Lane, a Fire Department spokesman said. Investigators haven't determined who set the fires or why. Tipsters can call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.

5COP HURT IN DRUG INVESTIGATION

A man was arrested after hitting a police officer with his car during a narcotics investigation on Howard Street near Cumberland in the city's Fairhill section yesterday afternoon, police said.

The 26th District officer, who police said is in his 30s, suffered a minor cut on his elbow. Police said that he was suffering from pain in one of his knees after the incident, but that he was otherwise in good physical condition after an evaluation at Episcopal Hospital.

6COP HURT BY DRUG SUSPECT

Police are searching for a suspect in connection with a gunpoint robbery that happened just before 10 p.m. on Fairmount Avenue near 4th Street, in Northern Liberties.

The suspect approached the victim with a sawed off shotgun and stole the victim's iPhone and $900 in cash. Police said that the suspect is a black man who is 6-feet-3 inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds.

-Staff and wire reports