Off to a sobering start

The late Doors leader Jim Morrison sang, "Strange days have found us."

The lyric certainly seems to describe the crime streak that has gripped the area in the early weeks of 2004.

Here’s a brief recap:

A prior offender diverted a radio station’s phone lines, allegedly lured a teen to his home and sexually assaulted her.

A man was run over and killed by an alleged drunken driver he confronted after a fender-bender.

A local woman, the mother of two small boys, was found strangled in the Northeast.

Six weeks into the new year, police have recorded 39 homicides in the city of Philadelphia.

In addition, two more victims were killed elsewhere but hailed from South Philly. The body of Jacques Nguyen, 38, of the 700 block of Christian Street, was found Jan. 9 on Hog Island Road by the airport. He had been strangled. Three weeks later, the nude body of Charisse Eschert, 28, from the 800 block of Pierce Street, was discovered in Pennypack Park on the edge of Holmesburg Avenue. She too had been strangled.

In an effort to deal with the steady murder rate and replace recently retired detectives, the Homicide Division will get some reinforcements by month’s end.

Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson announced last week that at least 10 detectives will join the ranks of the division. Inspector Bill Colarulo of the Police Public Affairs Unit said the exact number will be determined based on need and the number of promotions department-wide. The newly appointed homicide detectives will be plucked from the six citywide detective bureaus — among them South Detective Division, said the inspector. At press time, one veteran investigator at South Detectives already had been tapped, a source said.

Where the cases stand

William J. Passarella — perhaps better known as the man who allegedly posed as a Q102 disc jockey last month by diverting the station’s phone lines — was charged with his second kidnapping on Feb. 3.

The suspect allegedly kidnapped an 18-year-old he chatted up at the Greyhound bus station at 11th and Filbert streets on New Year’s Day, said Assistant District Attorney Mike Stackow. Passarella drove the victim to his home on the 2000 block of Kimball Street, where he "indecently assaulted her," Stackow said. Afterwards, investigators said, he dropped her off at a Rite Aid in Northeast Philly.

The charges mirror those stemming from the Q102 incident. Police say Passarella posed as a radio-station employee to lure a girl from Northeast Philly to his home Jan. 20 After picking her up at her home, he took her back to his South Philly address, where he held her against her will for nearly two hours, according to reports. Passarella was charged with simple assault, false imprisonment and indecent assault in that incident.

At the suspect’s attorney’s request, a Family Court judge ordered a mental-health evaluation for Passarella. His new preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19; both cases will be reviewed at that time.

Philadelphia authorities have not yet pressed charges against alleged hit-and-run driver Robert Haubert 3d, but that could change at any time.

Haubert, accused of running over Thomas Ricci at 26th Street and Passyunk Avenue after a minor accident Jan. 29, led police on a destructive chase on the Schuylkill Expressway and the Blue Route.

He was transferred to Philadelphia from a Delaware County prison Tuesday afternoon. Haubert already was charged in that jurisdiction with driving under the influence.

The Conshohocken man was scheduled to meet with homicide investigators, who would then likely petition the District Attorney’s Office to file charges, said Sgt. Roland Lee of the Police Public Affairs Unit.

Nearly two weeks after three people died in a blaze that gutted C.J.’s Variety Store and two dwellings above it, officials have yet to determine the origin or cause of the fire.

Peouv Lorm, 26, his 2-year-old daughter Aaliyah Lorm and the girl’s 4-year-old sister Asia Pril lived above the store at 2241 S. Fifth St. Sotum Pril, the girls’ mother, and her infant son were not home at the time of the Jan. 31 fire.

"Due to the number of fatalities and amount of destruction there, they’re having trouble reconstructing the incident to determine the cause," Fire Lt. Diane Schweizer told the Review Tuesday.

Fire Commissioner Harold Hairston is looking into the case, she added.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian Association is accepting donations on Sotum Pril’s behalf, said representative Rorng Sorn. Monetary contributions as well as clothing (infant male size 12-18 months and women’s size 0 or extra small), furniture and housewares are needed. Donations can be made at 5412 N. Fifth St. weekdays, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or locally at 2416-18 S. Seventh St. weekdays, 2:30 to 6 p.m. Donations also can be dropped off at the Review office, 12th and Porter streets.

Fight for Porchia continues

Last Friday, Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner reduced charges from first-degree to third-degree murder for Candice Geiger, one of two defendants in the beating death of 3-year-old Porchia Bennett.

Geiger, 18, and boyfriend Jerry Chambers, 32, were charged with Bennett’s murder after the child was found wedged between a mattress and wall inside the couple’s home at 1705 S. Fifth St. on Aug. 17.

A week later, Porchia’s mother, Tiffany Bennett, 27, surrendered to police and was charged with four counts of child endangerment and conspiracy for leaving her four children in the couple’s care.

Last week in court, Geiger’s attorney, Gerald M. Alston, argued that his client was a victim of abuse, just like Porchia and her sisters.

"She’s no longer facing death. That’s a relief in and of itself," Alston said of the judge’s ruling. A first-degree murder conviction in the state of Pennsylvania means life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

In reducing the charge, Lerner cited Geiger should be tried for recklessness that caused death, but not malice or intent to kill.

Shortly after Geiger was originally charged last summer, Assistant District Attorney Richard Sax said, "She very much participated in the beating of those children."

Sax was out of town this week, and DA spokesperson Cathie Abookire said she couldn’t comment on the specifics of the case.

Chambers was committed to Norristown State Hospital on Jan. 21 for evaluation and treatment after a psychiatrist diagnosed him as paranoid-schizophrenic. He is due back in court in two weeks so Lerner can review a mental-health report.

Chambers faces first-degree murder charges and a slew of other offenses.