The 15th Police District Advisory Council honored Raymond Hall and Michael Winkler as January’s Officers of the Month for an arrest they made of a man who is accused of carrying a gun that had been stolen in a robbery.
Capt. John McCloskey, the 15th’s commander, said the two officers saw David Whitest, 22, of the 4200 block of Rhawn St., partly concealing a firearm on his person on the 7900 block of Walker St. at 12:32 a.m. on Feb. 1.
When Hall and Winkler tried to stop him to learn if he had a license to carry the gun, Whitest fled and allegedly threw the weapon into some bushes. The officers managed to stop him on the 8000 block of Walker and subsequently found a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol in the bushes. They also allegedly found eight packets of marijuana on Whitest.
Also, the captain said, the weapon turned out to be stolen during a Jan. 18 gunpoint robbery on the 4200 block of Welsh Road. Detectives showed the victim of that crime a photo array and Whitest was identified as the robber.
In other news:
— McCloskey also told members at the Feb. 25 meeting that he has added 20 cops to foot patrols and hopes to soon get those officers on bikes to expand the range of their patrols.
— The captain also said his officers are stopping by businesses that operate in residential areas to remind them they must close at 11 p.m.
Businesses that stay open past that deadline are subject to $300 fines, he said. This is a quality-of-life issue, McCloskey said. Residents fear stores that stay open late become hangouts for drug dealers, he said.
— Although there have been a few homicides in the 15th, the city’s largest and busiest district, violent crime is down 29 percent, the captain said, over the same period last year. Detectives, he said, have made arrests in all of those murders except one that occurred on the 1600 block of Pratt St. on New Year’s Day. ••
Reporter John Loftus can be reached at 215–354–3110 or jloftus@bsmphilly.com
