©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Gun lost on Gravers Lane in midday bust
by JENNIFER KATZ

A black handgun remains lost in East Chestnut Hill somewhere along Gravers Lane between Stenton Avenue and Ardleigh Street after a 17-year-old male from Norristown led police on a chase through the neighborhood on July 13. Police would not release the young man’s name because he is a minor.

Neighbors on the 200 block of East Gravers Lane were startled by the sight of dozens of police officers running up and down their block in pursuit of the gun wielding fugitive.

Just after noon, Suzanne Bagwell of Wyndmoor was riding with her daughter Courtney, 16, on Bethlehem Pike in Flourtown. Courtney recently received her driver’s permit and was practicing driving with her mom in the passenger seat when they were passed by a young male in a light blue older model compact car.

“He flew past,” said Bagwell. “He must have been driving 50 or 60 miles per hour. He was weaving through traffic. I thought he must have just robbed a bank he was going so fast.”

According to Bagwell, an unmarked police car flashing its siren soon followed the speeding blue car. As they reached the intersection of Stenton Avenue and Gravers Lane, Bagwell said that she saw the blue car parked by the yard of an old house off to the right of the intersection.

“The doors of the car were open,” she said. “And there were all these police everywhere. There had to be 20 or 30 cops there.”

Police reportedly told neighbors that the suspect was stopped for driving a stolen car. According to police, the juvenile suspect ran from patrolmen during a routine traffic stop. He was carrying a black handgun and heading west on Gravers Lane into Chestnut Hill. Police apprehended the young man in the rear of a property in the 200 block of East Gravers Lane; however, he was no longer carrying the weapon. Police were not able to locate the weapon as of press time.

Ellen Maher, a Local employee and East Gravers Lane resident, said she was shocked at the sheer number of police officers running around in and out of driveways trying to catch the suspect.

“I heard all this noise, all the foghorns and I went outside and saw police cars driving back and forth,” said Maher. “There had to be dozens of officers there.”

Maher said she heard officers finally locate the boy shouting, “There he is!”

“And then I saw them bring out this little guy dressed all in black with a big silver chain belt from behind one of the houses,” she said.

The 17-year-old was arrested for gun possession. The district attorney’s office has yet to press charges, according to detectives at Northwest Detective Unit.

Police advised anyone who finds the firearm to not touch it and to call the police immediately.

Contact staff writer Jennifer Katz at 215-248-8804 or jenn@chestnuthilllocal.com.