3 held in Chesco and Delco daytime burglaries

Three Philadelphia residents were charged Saturday in connection with a string of daytime burglaries in Chester and Delaware Counties, police said.

Rafeal Lopes-De Almeida, 25, Gerson Amanzio Souza, 37, and Nancy Plummer, 22, were connected to thefts from mid-December through Friday in Westtown, East Goshen, Willistown, West Goshen, Newtown, and Marple Townships, Westtown-East Goshen Detective William Cahill said.

On Friday, Westtown-East Goshen regional police went to the 1100 block of Lake Drive in Westtown after a witness called 911 at 12:39 p.m. and reported hearing a residential alarm and seeing two people flee from the home, Cahill said.

The witness described their car, and officers spotted a matching green Ford Taurus on Route 202, leading to a traffic stop. Two witnesses were taken to the scene and identified the car and its three occupants, Cahill said.

Detectives confirmed a forced-entry burglary at the Lake Drive home. They conferred with other municipalities, and a group went to Philadelphia and seized property stolen during some of the break-ins, Cahill said.

As the investigation continues, he said, detectives anticipate seizing more stolen items.

He said police had received help from the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who determined that Lopes-De Almeida and Souza had entered the country illegally from Brazil. Federal detainers were issued for both, Cahill said.

The defendants were charged with burglary, conspiracy, and related offenses and taken to Chester County Prison after failing to post $100,000 bail each. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday, court records said.