Delaware
Delaware County Council gets earful about illegals after shots fired in Radnor park
Delaware County Council once again faced concerns about immigration at last week’s meeting against the backdrop of shots fired in a Radnor park over the weekend.
Sgt. Brady McHale of the Radnor Township Police Department said Tomas Cruz-Gayosso, 33, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was arrested last Sunday after police responded to Skunk Hollow Park on a a report of shots fired.
Several spent casings were found in Cruz-Gayosso’s vehicle as well as opened bottles of beer and liquor. And, the park needed to be closed for 45 minutes while officers investigated.
At Wednesday’s county council meeting, several community members voiced concerns.
“Somebody, Elaine, in a park near your house, fired off six shots,” Charles Alexander of Marple said to County Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer. “That’s great, in a township park in Delaware County, Pa., firing off six rounds.”
Alexander said he’d place blame on council if anyone is hurt by an illegal immigrant.
“Like we haven’t warned you?” he said. “We’re going to continue bringing this up. And when you do nothing and somebody’s child, mother, sister, brother, anyone is hurt, we are going to hold you responsible.”
Gary Ryder of Marple was concerned about the safety of kids who use the park and its nearby environs.
“That guy shot off, an illegal immigrant that you guys are letting in our county,” he said.
Police said Cruz-Gayosso had a work visa but were unable to determine if he was in the United States legally or illegally.
Back at the county council meeting, lifelong county resident Diane Tumolo said she’s a nurse.
“We’re all immigrants. I love immigrants. I take care of immigrants,” she said. “Illegal is the problem … When you have people coming in here that are not documented, we don’t know what diseases they are carrying.”
Debra Morton of Springfield shared her perspective as an immigrant who’s been an American citizen for seven years now.
“I chose to move here because it is a fantastic country,” she said. “When I came to the U.S., I owned a green card. I was subject to blood tests, questioning and biometric records. These are reasonable safety precautions for a country who wants to know who is coming to stay and who is coming to live here.”
She added that family who visit her are also subject to biometric records as they enter.
“It isn’t just about immigration,” Morton said. “It is about the legality of everything that is happening and the safety of people who have children, live in a township with parks … and it terrifies me to think that there are people committing the crimes that we’ve seen in New York and in other areas … It’s a safety issue.”
She voiced concern about the costs of care.
“There’s no way that our society and our county can sustain a large number of people that are not paying taxes because we’re going to run out of money and then we’re all going to be in trouble,” she said.
County Councilman Kevin Madden said he was not going to question their fears or anxieties, and recommended that they take their concerns to those in government, particularly at the federal level, who have jurisdiction over immigration and customs enforcement.
“It’s not us,” he said of county council.
Police specifics
Of last Sunday’s incident, McHale added, “There were no injuries to bystanders or residents near the park.”
He said police were initially dispatched to Saw Mill Park for the reports of shots fired and realized the incident was occurring across the creek bed at Skunk Hollow Park.
Police found Cruz-Gayosso seated in a black SUV with several open bottles of beer and liquor, a 9 mm handgun and six spent casings in plain view.
McHale said the gun was in someone else’s name.
“He does not have a license to carry a firearm,” the sergeant said of Cruz-Gayosso.
Cruz-Gayosso was charged with firearms not to be carried without a license, recklessly endangering another person and DUI.
McHale said Cruz-Gayosso was taken into custody without incident and told officers he was “staying local,” but they were unable to determine what that meant.
McHale said he seems to be transient.
He said it was similar to a case in 2022 when a man was taken into custody after a report of shots fired in Fenimore Woods Park.
In that case, McHale said the man said he had just purchased a gun and wanted to see what it was like to shoot it off.
Regarding a reason for Cruz-Gayosso to shoot, McHale said, “He did not elaborate on the purpose for that.”
The sergeant added that no property in or around Skunk Hollow Park appeared damaged.
Arrested and sent to George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Cruz-Gayosso was released two days later after posting 10% of his $35,000 bail. No defense attorney was listed.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5 before Magisterial District Judge Sloan Walker.
McHale urged citizens to remain aware, wherever they may be.
“Crime is not immune anywhere,” the sergeant said. “Being alert and oriented of your surroundings is so important.”
Originally Published:
He speaks for silent Gettysburg witnesses
Greg Gober is fascinated by the living link to Gettysburg’s history – and he wants to protect the trees that stood by during the battle 161 years ago.
“Pages of history” features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
March 1, 2006, The News Journal
Under plan, 59% electric rate hike to be phased in
Delmarva Power has proposed phasing in electricity rate increases to reduce the shock of a 59% price hike for residents scheduled to begin May 1.
If the proposal is approved by the state, the typical residential bill would go up slightly less than $18 a month on May 1. Then on Jan. 1, the typical bill would go up again by the same amount. On May 1, 2007, a last increase of $34 would be added, assuming no other change in the market price for electricity. …
Delmarva Power officials unveiled the proposal Tuesday as part of a response to an executive order issued last month by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. She asked state agencies to study possible responses to the rate hike, including the option of reregulating the industry.
In 1999, state lawmakers removed controls on the price of wholesale electricity, reshaping the power market in the state. As part of the change, electricity rates were lowered by 7.5% until 2003.
Delmarva Power says the coming 59% increase is mainly caused by price hikes in the cost of the fuels that generate electricity, such as natural gas and coal.
Under deregulation, Delmarva must buy about one-third of its total power needs on the wholesale market every year. If the wholesale market is lower next year, customers could save some money. If the wholesale market is up, then rates could go even higher than they are currently expected to go….
Deregulation was expected to reduce electricity prices by bringing competition to the electric market, but only the largest power customers in the state are able to shop for power. Residents do not have a choice about who supplies their electricity.
Some lawmakers are calling for the state to reregulate the industry….
Reregulating part or all of the electricity market is unlikely to have any impact on the 59% rises in bills, experts say, but could prevent dramatic price spikes in the future….
March 3, 1976, The Morning News page
Sussex prison dilemma prompts judicial warning
If the General Assembly doesn’t do something soon about the crumbling Sussex Correctional Institution, he will, a federal judge strongly hinted yesterday.
Judge Murray M. Schwartz said he frankly hopes lawmakers will come up with the extra $1.6 million needed for a thorough overhaul of the Georgetown prison this month.
If they do, he said, it probably will “wash out” the inmates’ suit to close the prison. Schwartz is hearing the suit now, but isn’t expected to make a ruling for several months.
Should he find that the “legislature has abdicated its responsibilities [to the prison],” Schwartz warned, “then that has opened up a hole the federal court will have to fill.”
The state earmarked $2 million from a bond issue for Sussex prison renovation, but the base construction bid opened in January was $2.8 million. With alternate improvements officials want, the cost would rise to $3.4 million.
Acting Correction Commissioner Paul Keve, a defendant in the inmates’ suit, said it “looks very hopeful” that $1.6 million originally appropriated for another prison project will be reallocated to the Sussex work….
Several times yesterday, Schwartz expressed puzzlement over the state’s defense to the suit which seemed to be, “Yes, Sussex is bad, but we’re going to improve it,” the judge remarked.
The improvements are part of the defense, replied Deputy Atty. Gen. John Willard. But he said he would also contend the prison’s deficiencies aren’t an unconstitutional denial of due process or cruel and unusual punishment, as the inmates claim.
The prison’s 45-year-old main building “defeats efforts to improve it in a superficial way,” Keve said, and demands instead a “drastic, complete, comprehensive” renovation.
He said a new kitchen is most urgently needed, but the plans also call for complete replacement of the plumbing, electrical and heating systems, construction of a gymnasium, medical-dental suite and space for classrooms and group discussions.
Prisoners have complained of a lack of rehabilitation programs….
March 6, 1926, The Evening Journal
Woman, baby, dog rescued from burning home
Mary Anderson … and a year-old baby were carried from the burning house at 4 W. 12th St. in Wilmington this morning. …
The fire, which originated in the chimney of the house, caused a spectacular blaze that destroyed the roof and damaged the interior of the dwelling, and drew a large crowd.
Trolley traffic on Market Street was tied up for 20 minutes or more. Long lines of cars from the Boulevard, Washington, Shellpot and Darby lines blocked both tracks for two squares or more, owing to the lines of fire hose that were stretched across Market Street.
The fire was first discovered by Mrs. Anderson who was in the house with the year-old baby of Margaret Thomas who was at work. Smelling smoke, Mrs. Anderson went to the second floor and seeing a flame around the stove pipe hole in the chimney, threw water on it. Thinking she had extinguished the fire, she started downstairs.
In the meantime, the blaze broke out around the edge of the roof and the smoke was seen by John Wright and Stanley Pletuszka, who were in the office of the Pittsburg Independent Oil Company at 12th and Market streets.
Wright ran to the fire alarm box at 13th and King streets and turned in an alarm to which Engine Companies 1,7 and 10 and Truck Company 1 responded.
Pletuszka ran to the house where he was joined by Lloyd Smith of West 13th Street. Finding the door fastened and knowing that Mrs. Anderson and the baby were in the house, they broke down the door.
They met Mrs. Anderson coming downstairs and when an attempt was made to get her to leave, she refused, insisting that the fire was out. The rescuers had to carry the woman from the burning building, then returning they found the baby in the lower part of the house and carried it to the home of a neighbor where the baby and the woman were cared for.
Herbert Johnson, son of Mrs. Anderson of Orange Street, hearing that his mother’s home was on fire, hurried there and with other men saved practically all of the furniture in the house. A small dog, owned by Mrs. Anderson, was rescued by Johnson, but a larger dog defied the efforts of other men to take it from the house. …
The firemen prevented the spread of the fire by deluging the building with water, the chemical streams first used being found insufficient to check the fire. …
The loss is estimated at $800.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
RADNOR, Pa. – Authorities say a Delaware County school employee is accused of traveling to Texas to sexually assault a minor he met online.
What we know:
Michael Robinson, 43, was taken into custody near Radnor Middle School where investigators say he worked as a paraprofessional.
Investigators believe Robinson traveled to Tyler, Texas in the summer of 2024 to meet a minor he had connected with online.
Robinson, according to U.S. Marshals, allegedly sexually assaulted the teen over the course of a weekend.
Delaware County school employee accused of sex assault of minor in Texas
Prosecutors in Smith County, Texas charged Robinson in December with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Under 15-years-old.
Robinson is being held at a Delaware County jail where he is awaiting extradition to Texas.
What they’re saying:
U.S. Marshals in Pennsylvania said Robinson’s arrest shows that “sexual predators will always be pursued relentlessly.”
The Radnor Township School District said Robinson has been placed on leave and will not have contact with students.
“Parents of the limited number of children to whom the employee was assigned were contacted by the administration immediately.”
The district said it is cooperating with law enforcement and has “no information indicating misconduct involving district students.”
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