Montco cop charged with stealing morphine

1MONTCO COP CHARGED WITH STEALING MORPHINE

A Montgomery County police officer was arrested yesterday for stealing prescription drugs from the ambulance company where he also worked, prosecutors said.

When the chief of operations for Plymouth Ambulance Co. noticed that morphine was missing from a supply closet, he notified Plymouth police, who began looking into the thefts on May 5.

Investigations revealed that Plymouth Ambulance Assistant Chief Dominic Venezia had used his key card to gain access to the supply closet on several occasions. Authorities subsequently placed hidden cameras in the office, which showed Venezia was stealing the drug, police said.

Venezia, who authorities said admitted he had a drug addiction, was arraigned on theft and narcotics charges and no longer works for the Police Department or the ambulance company, prosecutors said.

2COPS: GETAWAY CAR SLAMS INTO BUSINESS

A getaway driver fleeing the scene of a theft at the King of Prussia Mall lost control, rammed a brick wall and ended up in the hospital along with four other suspects yesterday afternoon, authorities said.

After the suspects sped away from the mall in a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo about 12:20 p.m., Upper Merion Township police spotted them trying to ditch evidence in a nearby business parking lot, cops said. When the suspects realized police were nearby, they fled along Gulph Road, cops said. Police said the driver lost control near Lewis Road, and the car zoomed across a parking lot and then slammed into a business.

3WOMAN ROBBED AFTER FAKE POLICE STOP

Two men pretending to be police officers pulled over a woman and robbed her Monday in the Ogontz section of the city, according to police.

About 2:20 p.m., two men in a white SUV initiated a fake traffic stop on a woman on Champlost Avenue near 16th Street, police said. They displayed badges during the stop and stole the woman's purse and car keys but left her and her vehicle alone. The men were last seen going south on 16th Street, police said. Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call the Police Department's tip line at 215-686-8477.

4GRANDPA CHARGED IN BB-GUN ATTACK

An 81-year-old Chester County man was charged with assaulting his granddaughter with a BB gun last week. The victim, 31, and her grandfather, Howard Cantler, got in an argument about 6:30 p.m. May 25 at the home they share in Oxford, police said. The victim said the fight was over accusations her grandfather made about her husband.

Cantler allegedly pulled a BB gun on his granddaughter and hit her on the face with the butt of the gun, causing bleeding and bruising, according to court documents. Cantler was charged with simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment, police said.

IN OTHER NEWS: DOG FOUND HANGING FROM TREE

Animal-welfare officers were investigating the discovery last night of a dead dog hanging from a tree in the city's Far Northeast. The dog, with a stick shoved down its throat, was reported by visitors in Benjamin Rush State Park, said Wendy Marano, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania SPCA.

The breed of the dog was not available, and it was not immediately known how long the dog had been dead, Marano said.

TWO TEENS STABBED AT LOVE PARK

A 19-year-old homeless woman will face aggravated assault charges after stabbing two teenage girls at LOVE Park last night, police said.

The girls, 15 and 16, were playing in the fountain about 7 p.m. when someone threw a water bottle at Gabriel Hodges, a homeless woman. Hodges thought one of the girls threw the bottle at her, police said. An argument ensued and Hodges pulled out a pair of scissors. The 15-year-old was stabbed in the stomach and shoulder, and the 16-year-old suffered a cut on the bridge of her nose, police said. The younger victim was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital and was in stable condition after surgery. The 16-year-old was taken to the Albert Einstein Medical Center, treated then released.

- Staff and wire reports