Wowl! Home invaded, then busted for weed

ATEMPLE University student's alleged illegitimate side hustle may have been to blame for a home-invasion robbery of his house near campus late Sunday night, cops said Monday.

Police arrested Massimo Pulcini, 21, after they found marijuana inside the house on Page Street near 15th, a few blocks from Temple's main campus. Pulcini was charged with narcotics possession and related offenses, and police said they believe the student was dealing drugs out of the house.

About 10 p.m. Sunday, two gunmen burst into the house, where Pulcini and three other students were, while a third man waited outside, police said. The robbers fled with the students' cellphones and between $500 and $900 in cash. During the investigation, cops seized about four ounces of weed worth about $1,200 and booked Pulcini for possession with intent to distribute.

According to Pulcini's Linked-In profile, he's a journalism major who plans to graduate next year and interned at Philadelphia City Paper in 2011.

Police don't believe that any of the other people in the house were dealing.

Late last year, there were seven similar home-invasion robberies targeting students near Temple's campus, all of which were found to be drug-related.

As for the robbers, cops said they arrested one man but he hadn't been charged Monday.

An advisory issued to Temple students described two of the three men as black and between 18 and 25, one tall and thin, the other chubby. The tall man wore a navy windbreaker and Nike pants with a stripe and the chubby man wore a black hooded sweatshirt. The third assailant, who waited outside, is described as a black man in a light brown shirt with white lettering. It's unclear which is in custody.

Pulcini's fellow Temple students said they weren't surprised.

"It happens all the time. It doesn't even faze me anymore," said junior Rob Weber, 21, who also rents a house just off campus with roommates. "Being in North Philly, you feel like you're not going to get caught. Then stuff like this happens to you. You get robbed, then you get caught."