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After a month-long investigation, police have made an arrest in the Jan. 27 hit-and-run accident that took the life of a 31-year-old local tow-truck driver.
Bobby Janaitis, of the 2400 block of South 11th Street, was killed just after he stopped to help a pair of stranded motorists on Interstate-95 near Girard Avenue.
Robert Swinehart, 67, of Northeast Philadelphia, surrendered to police March 2, said Capt. Bruce Capriotti of the Accident Investigation Division.
Swinehart was charged with homicide by vehicle, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. If convicted of all three offenses, he could face a maximum of 20 years in jail, the captain said.
Janaitis, who worked for South Philly Towing, was on duty when he stopped to aid the motorists, said the division’s Sgt. George Golden. Mike Otterson, who owns the towing company, confirmed that Janaitis had been on duty at the time, contrary to previous reports stating he was off-duty.
Janaitis had just exited his truck when he was struck and killed by a black Mercedes shortly after 10:30 p.m., Golden said.
Four days later, Swinehart surrendered a convertible 2000 SL 500 Series Mercedes to police and gave a "very limited statement," said Capriotti, who added that the suspect’s daughter owns the car.
The captain explained that it took investigators more time to establish that Swinehart was the driver.
"You can have the car but in court you have to put the person behind the wheel in order to have a successful prosecution," Capriotti said. "That is the most important part."
Swinehart "was a person of interest from the start," added the captain.
The District Attorney’s Office has no record of convictions for Swinehart, said DA director of communications Cathie Abookire.
South Philly Towing’s Otterson said he was somewhat relieved that police had made the arrest, adding, "We’ll have to see what justice is implemented on this."
The owner remembered Janaitis as a dedicated, conscientious employee who had worked for him a little less than a year.
"He was a very good person, kindhearted, very jolly, happy-go-lucky type," Otterson said.
Man dies in blaze at home
Officials said smoking was the cause of a house fire that killed a 25-year-old man early yesterday.
There were no smoke alarms in the two-story dwelling on the 300 block of Snyder Avenue, said Executive Fire Chief Willie Williams.
When firefighters arrived at 3:15 a.m., they encountered heavy smoke on the second floor, the chief said.
Carmen Martina was found unconscious in a second-floor middle bedroom, said Officer Maria Ibrahim of the Police Public Affairs Unit.
The victim was rushed to Methodist Hospital, where he died shortly before 4 a.m., Ibrahim said.
The fire was contained to the second floor, said Williams.
Fire starts in squatter turf
The cause of a one-alarm blaze at a squatter-occupied dwelling on Broad Street was ruled accidental.
Flames broke out around 10 p.m. last Thursday inside a third-floor rear room at 2124 S. Broad St., said Philadelphia Fire Department Chief Daniel Williams. The first floor of the three-story building was a vacant office and squatters occupied the upper two floors, said the chief. There was no one in the building when firefighters arrived.
The blaze was placed under control shortly after 11 p.m. and damage to the property was contained to the third floor.
The fire marshal cited the cause to be an electrical heater.
Smoke and water damage extended to a pizza shop at 2126 S. Broad St., said Williams.
Delores DiMarco owns an adjoining four-story building at 2128 S. Broad St.
Her business, Cinema II hair replacement, occupies the ground and second floors. Two tenants live in upper-floor apartments. Two of her tenants, a 26-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son, were home at the time of the fire but escaped unharmed, she said.
Claiming the building is an eyesore overrun with squatters, DiMarco has been trying to get it boarded up for years. She said she has filed complaints with the Department of Licenses and Inspections.
Andrea Swan, spokesperson for L&I;, said she had no record of violations at the site, but noted that squatters have to be removed before a property can be sealed.
Building owner Dr. Howard Fox, a dentist whose practice is at 10th and Jackson streets, said he was in the process of having the squatters evicted when the fire broke out.
When Fox bought the building a few years ago, it was a boarding house and dental practice.
Unhappy with the type of tenants he was attracting, Fox decided to close the boarding house and move the patients from the practice to his current location.
Torn between selling or renovating the property, the dentist decided to hold on to the building because property values were soaring in the area, he said.
"I feel bad about this," Fox said. "My intentions were to do something with this building. It was not meant for anybody to be in there."
Robber stabs victim
After a man refused to comply with a mugger’s demands, the culprit pulled a knife and stabbed him, police said.
The 20-year-old victim had been walking on the 2400 block of Dickinson Street around 5 a.m. Saturday when a man approached and demanded money, said Detective Joe Chiaro of South Detective Division.
When the victim said he didn’t have any money, the culprit pulled a knife and stabbed him once in each arm, police said. Before taking off, the perpetrator swiped $25 from the victim’s pants pocket.
The victim was treated at Methodist Hospital and later released.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Man held up and carjacked
A 21-year-old man was robbed and carjacked at gunpoint Saturday night, just after he parked outside his house on the 1500 block of South Fifth Street.
The victim was about to exit his car around 9:10 p.m. when a man approached, aimed a handgun at him and demanded money, said Detective Joe Chiaro of South Detectives. After the victim turned over $30, the culprit ordered him out of the car and then hopped in and drove off with the red 1997 Pontiac Montana minivan.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Five arrested in drug bust
Narcotics officers locked up five people and recovered drugs and a weapon during a March 2 raid on a home on the 2600 block of South Sheridan Street.
The bust was the result of a tip phoned into the Gun Recovery Reward Incentive Program (GRRIP) hotline, said Narcotics Inspector Joe Sullivan.
Charged with drug violations were Robert Rooney, 32, and Meghan McGinley, 23, of the Sheridan Street address; Rocco Maniscalco, 33, of the 2500 block of South Beulah Street; Raymond Crecilius, 33, of the 2500 block of South Franklin Street; and Maureen Lynn, 25, of the 2500 block of South Mildred Street.
Lynn was the alleged buyer, while the others were sellers, police said.
The 5 p.m. raid netted marijuana, 256 Oxycontin and Xanax pills valued at $1,280, a Smith and Wesson .38-caliber gun loaded with four live rounds, a 2005 Lincoln Navigator and $1,153 cash.
To report information on suspected weapons violations, call the GRRIP hotline at 215-683-GUNS.
Committee clears way for smoking ban
City Council’s controversial smoking-ban bill continues to gain steam.
On Monday, the Council Committee on Health and Human Services unanimously approved a proposal to stamp out smoking in the city’s public workspaces, including bars and restaurants.
The entire Council will have a chance to vote on the legislation, which eight members cosponsored, at next Thursday’s meeting.
The bill, supported by Mayor John Street, has been a hot-button topic among health advocates and bar and restaurant owners since Fourth District Councilman Michael Nutter introduced it last month.
The committee heard testimony from parties on both sides before arriving at a 6-0 vote.
-by Fred Durso Jr.
