Victims allegedly threatened with shutoff of electricity
On April 22, a business located in the 100 block of South Willow Street received a phone call at 2:02 p.m. from a subject who claimed to represent PECO, Kennett Square police said. The subject advised the business that its PECO account was delinquent, adding that its electric service would be terminated within the hour; the only way to avoid that outcome was to go to Walgreens and purchase a $500 GreenDot MoneyPak RushCard and provide the access code to the caller, the business told police.
The business purchased the GreenDot MoneyPak RushCard, gave the subject the access code, and was advised it still owed $300, police said. The business became suspicious, called PECO, and learned that its account was not past due; PECO advised that this was a scam targeting Hispanic businesses, police said.
A business located in the 200 block of East State Street received a similar phone call at 3:34 p.m. on April 22, became suspicious, contacted PECO, and were advised of the scam, police said. An investigation is continuing, police said.
Police are also investigating an attempted theft that occurred on April 25 at 3:35 p.m., police said. A resident of the 100 block of West State Street reported to Police that she had received a sweepstakes letter from “Praxair Sweepstakes Commission” of Danbury, Ct., along with a check in the amount of $2,550. Suspecting a scam, the resident took the check to a bank that confirmed it was counterfeit, police said.
A resident of the 100 block of West Mulberry Street reported to police that someone cloned her MasterCard number and made purchases in Philadelphia and Glen Mills on April 21 between 6 and 7:13 p.m., police said, adding that an investigation is continuing.
On April 23 at 8:12 p.m., police said officers responded to a minor accident in the 200 block of East Linden Street. Upon investigating, police detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, received permission to search it, and found a loaded Tec 9 assault pistol in the rear of the vehicle, police said. The investigation continues with charges pending, police said.
On April 27 between 1:30 and 1:50 p.m., a three-finger snake ring was stolen from a business located in the 100 block of East State Street, police said. The suspects were described as two young females between the age of 15 and 20, police said. One was medium height, thin build, with dirty blonde, shoulder-length hair; the other was thin with platinum blonde hair, wearing skinny jeans and black & red Jordans, police said, adding that the investigation is continuing.
State police from the Avondale barracks responded to a three-vehicle accident on April 28 at 3:52 p.m. in Kennett Township, police said. Scott Edgar III, 58, of Wilmington, was traveling north on Rt. 52 near Cardinal Lane when he failed to stop his 2006 Volvo XC70 in time to avoid hitting two vehicles ahead of him that were stopped, waiting for another vehicle to turn. No one was injured, and Edgar was cited for careless driving, police said.
