Lower Providence Township Police Department, Montgomery County, PA

The Lower Providence Township Police Department is actively investigating the incident on Barrington Road that occurred on January 14, 2022 involving the possibility of an Apple Air Tag being affixed to a resident’s vehicle while at the Movie Tavern in Upper Providence Township. We have received several phone calls from individuals who have recently received similar safety alerts on their phones. Fortunately, what we are noticing in many of those cases, is that there is a st...rong correlation between the individuals receiving these safety alerts and all of them owning Apple Air Pods. With that said, there is a possibility that an individual’s Apple Air Pods or other Apple accessory may be activating the safety alert you receive on your phone. Additionally, as of today, the Lower Providence Township Police Department has not located an Apple Air Tag on any of the reporting parties’ vehicles or belongings. The most important thing to remember is to remain vigilant. If you receive a safety alert from Apple and the message says an Apple Air Tag is detected and moving with you, call 9-1-1 and arrange to meet with a police officer in a public and secure location. If you receive a safety alert from Apple that says Unknown Accessory Detected you can check the Find My app on your phone to determine if there is an Apple Air Tag tracking you, or simply another Apple accessory that may have synced up with your phone through a Bluetooth signal. You also have access to tap the safety message you receive from Apple, select continue and then select play sound. When you tap play sound the Apple Air Tag will begin to make a noise to alert you of its whereabouts. If you are in a public and secure area, check the outside of your vehicle, handbags, luggage, pockets, and anything you have with you to see if you can locate an Apple Air Tag. Apple Air Tags are approximately the size of a quarter and will make a noise if you receive a safety alert and tap play sound. Here is a link for Apple Support that goes into more detail and lists the steps you can take to confirm you are not being tracked by an Apple Air Tag. www.support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227. If you receive a safety alert from Apple for an Unknown Accessory Detected and you do not locate an Apple Air Tag, please call Apple Support to also make a report with them. If you believe you are being followed, stalked, or in danger of any sort, call 9-1-1 immediately. Our officers are trained professionals that are available 24/7 to assist. Thank you to everyone who has assisted our agency in this active and on-going investigation.

Today we honor and celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about a local coffee shop called Coffee Closet with Barista Jake. After stopping by, not only was the coffee good, but the service was amazing! We met Barista Jake, an autistic young man, who decided to start his own business as a barista in his parent’s record shop. While talking to Jake and his parent’s, we learned of the several ways they try to help throughout the community with local fundraisers and charities. Additionally, they assis...t with employing other teenagers and young adults with special needs by improving their social, vocational, and customer service skills. If you get the chance, please check them out. You’ll be glad you did! Thanks Coffee Closet with Barista Jake for the excellent cup of coffee and conversation, we’ll definitely be back! As law enforcement officers, it’s especially important for us to understand the various disorders that can influence someone’s behavior. For more information on the Autism spectrum disorder, visit www.autismsociety.org.

A snow emergency has been declared for Lower Providence Township from 8:00 pm Thursday, January 6, 2022 until 12:00 pm on Friday, January 7, 2022 subject to cha...nge. Residents are reminded of the following restrictions that are in place under the snow emergency declaration: Parking is prohibited on the odd numbered side of the street unless there is no off-street parking available at or within 300 feet of the property. All vehicles should have chains or all-weather tires. Any vehicle parked, stalled, incapable of moving or left unattended upon any street or road may be removed or towed by the Police Department. Blowing or shoveling snow into the street is prohibited. For snow plowing concerns on the following state roadways, please contact PennDOT at 1-800-349-7623: Audubon Rd., Pawlings Rd., Eagleville Rd., Ridge Pike, Egypt Rd., River Rd., Evansburg Rd., Trooper Rd., Level Rd. (between Ridge Pike and Yerkes Rd) Park Av., Yerkes Rd., and Route 422. For concerns on Germantown Pike, contact Montgomery County, 610-275-2368. Additional information can be found at www.lowerprovidence.org. Thank you for your cooperation. Any questions regarding the Snow Emergency Declaration may be directed to the Lower Providence Township Emergency Management Coordinator, Michael C. Rohlfing, 610-635-3546 or the Lower Providence Police Department, 610-539-5901.

We have partnered up with Methacton School District to award a student who displays good behavior, is observed going above and beyond, is working hard, and displays good citizenship by escorting them to school in a police car. Today, Chase Pushman from Ms. Johnson’s 2nd grade classroom at Woodland Elementary School was awarded for good behavior. Way to go Chase! Keep up the good work and thanks for being Sergeant Stead’s co-pilot this morning.

Update: Road is open. Eagleville Road is currently closed between Arcola Road and Visitation Road due to a vehicle accident with a downed utility pole. Please avoid the area. Thank you!

Happy New Year! We wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year. We would like to thank our community for a wonderful 2021 and look forward to serving you in 2022. Wishing you all the best, LPPD

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and while we want everyone to have a fun night, we also want you to be safe. Below are some safety tips to remember. As always, we will have officers actively patrolling and if you need our assistance, call 9-1-1.

https://www.lowerprovidence.org//webfo/vacation-home-check

’ , . Recently, the Lower Providence Police Department has been seeing an increase in the number of fraud cases which are facilitated via the internet. These scams and schemes encompass computer and bank account takeovers, blackmail, extortion, property rentals, foreign currency investment, online marketplace scams, and transactions based in Cryptocurrency. Oft...en times the scammer requests that the victim make their payments or investments using Bitcoin, or another cryptocurrency. There are numerous Bitcoin ATM’s in the area where US Dollars can be exchanged for Bitcoin and you can transfer money from one Bitcoin wallet to another. For those unaware, a cryptocurrency (or crypto) is a digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services. We have also been made aware of a new type of scam that has grown in popularity nationwide. These scams focus on people who have an interest in investing their money. The victims are directed to a website, typically posing as a broker site. These websites are extremely well designed and operationally functional in order to deceive the victim. The victims are reassured by the appearance of the website and choose to invest through the company. During this process they are told to convert their US dollars to a cryptocurrency. The initial investments will be very successful, oftentimes causing the victims to invest more money. The goal of the scam is to display an unusually and abnormally large investment return to entice a victim to provide even more money for the investment. The scheme is recognized when the victim attempts to withdraw their money and are locked out of their accounts. We here at the Lower Providence Township Police Department are urging residents to exercise caution when considering interacting with individuals on the internet via an online marketplace, classified advertisement, investment pitch, or any other form of sale or purchase of service or goods. We ask that you closely scrutinize any institution or individual that you are considering providing money to by way of Cryptocurrency, or third-party payment platforms such as Cashapp, Zelle, Venmo, etc. It is very important to understand that these payments, once sent, are out of your hands and are extremely difficult to recover.

Today we visited Montgomery County Department of Public Safety and voted on our favorite Christmas tree each of their four platoons decorated. You all did a wonderful job, thank you for having us!

Sgt. Stead helped Santa and his elves at the township’s Winter Wonderland on Saturday night. Covid didn’t stop anyone from getting into the Christmas Spirit. Great job by the volunteers and our Parks and Recreation Department.

Yesterday afternoon, Officer Cherelle Cutting stopped a motor vehicle after observing a violation. During the stop, the driver was found in possession of a pound of marijuana, over $900.00 cash, and a loaded firearm. This is a great example of proactive police work. Nice job, Cherelle! Integrity~Honor~Respect~Courage

We're Hiring! Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police The Lower Providence Township Police Department is seeking a full-time Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police. The Executive Assistant is responsible to the Chief of Police for administrative support that will promote department efficiencies in basic duties including patrols, investigations, community relations and other functions of the agency. ... REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE and TRAINING: Education: Bachelor of Science Degree from an accredited university with course work related to administration of justice, criminology, or related field. Experience: Previous administrative or secretarial experience in a law enforcement agency is required. Possession of a valid driver’s license. Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office Software and Google Docs. Applicants must be able to pass an extensive background investigation. Interested candidates should submit a letter of interest and resume to Chief of Police Mike Jackson at [email protected]. The deadline for resumes is December 18, 2020. Lower Providence Township complies with all Equal Opportunity Employment and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration as to their ability to perform the essential functions of the position.

On Friday, December 4, 2020, Lower Providence Parks and Recreation Department will welcome in the holidays with a virtual Community Tree Lighting. The event wil...l be streaming live on Facebook at 6:00 pm. Gather the family to watch from home as Santa lights the Township tree! While there will be no in-person tree lighting event for the public to attend this year due to COVID concerns, we hope you’ll kick off your holiday season by watching the lighting of the tree on Facebook Live! See the flyer below for the new Winter Wonderland details!

***The owner has been located*** This guy was found in the 400 block of S. Park Avenue. If you know the owner, please give us a call at 610-539-5900.

FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGE ADDED AGAINST AUSTIN STEVENS IN DEATH OF 10-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Lower Providen...ce Township Police Chief Michael Jackson announce the addition of First-Degree, Second-Degree and Third-Degree Murder charges against Austin Stevens, 29, of the 3400 block of Germantown Pike, following the coroner’s ruling that the death of 10-month-old Zara Scruggs was homicide. The Coroner’s Office’s ruling that this 10-month-old baby’s death was homicide confirms what our investigation showed: Zara died a deeply disturbing death at the hands of her father. Stevens will have to answer to murder charges, said DA Steele. Lower Providence Police responded to a 911 call for an unresponsive infant at 10:40 p.m. on Oct. 3, 2020 at a residence on Germantown Pike. Police arrived and immediately began CPR on the unresponsive baby, who was transported by ambulance to Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, where, despite resuscitation efforts, she was pronounced dead at 12:12 a.m. On Oct. 4, 2020, an autopsy on the infant was conducted by Dr. Frederick Hellman, a forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Dr. Hellman determined that Zara Scruggs was the victim of a sexual assault, sustaining anal rectal trauma and blunt force trauma to the head. The coroner’s office ordered additional forensic tests. This week, Dr. Hellman finalized the cause of death as blunt force head trauma and the manner of death was homicide. A joint investigation into the baby’s death by Lower Providence Police and Montgomery County Detectives found the defendant and the baby were the only people in the residence at the time of death. A download of the defendant’s phone found that he had conducted multiple Google searches for nearly an hour before calling 911 with subjects that included If baby stop breathing, What if you don’t hear baby heart or beat, My baby isn’t breathing, and How do you know if a bsby is dead. Stevens also conducted social media and text conversations with two women during this time that were not related to the baby’s condition. Detectives recovered the bloody diaper that was worn by the baby when she was transported to the hospital. Charges of First-Degree Murder, Second-Degree Murder and Third-Degree Murder were added to the charges Stevens is facing, which included Involuntary Deviant Sexual Intercourse, Rape of a Child, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Indecent Assault and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m., today, Dec. 1, 2020 on all charges. At that time, prosecutors will move to revoke bail as there is no bail available for First-Degree Murder charges. Stevens has been in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility since his original arrest date. The case will be prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann, Jr. and Assistant Chief of Trials Brianna Ringwood, who oversees the Family Protection Unit.

This set of tools was found in the Collegeville section of the Township this morning. If you are the owner, please contact us at 610-539-5901 to pick them up. Thanks!

LPPD’s Sgt. Mark Stead enjoyed hanging out with the kids at Pumpkin Palooza yesterday. The event was held in Eagleville Park and the kids each received a nice gift bag from the department.

Sgt. Mark Stead partnered up with our Parks and Recreation Department, Montgomery County Senior Services and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday for a drug take back and to share information with our senior citizens. Thank you to those that came out to see us.

This year marks the 25th annual Lt. Patti Simons Law Enforcement Food & Toy Drive. We will be collecting non-perishable food items along with new unwrapped toys until Wednesday, December 16, 2020. All donations support the Salvation Army’s pantry as well as several other food banks throughout Montgomery County. Please consider donating to such a worthy cause!! A donation box can be found in the lobby of the police station. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sgt. Mark Stead at (610) 635-3571.

LPPD will be collecting unused and expired medications at our police station located at 100 Parklane Drive, Eagleville, PA 19403 on October 24, 2020 between 10 AM and 2 PM.

Officer Niles Luong had a great time at the Cars Vs. Cancer Car Show on Saturday night. All proceeds from the the night went to the American Cancer Society. Integrity~Honor~Respect~Courage

AUSTIN STEVENS ARRESTED ON SEXUAL ASSAULT, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CHARGES IN DEATH OF 10-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and ...Lower Providence Township Police Chief Michael Jackson announce the arrest of Austin Stevens, 29, of the 3400 block of Germantown Pike, on charges of Involuntary Deviant Sexual Intercourse, Aggravated Assault and other charges related to the death of his 10-month-old daughter, Zara Scruggs. On Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, at 10:40 p.m., Lower Providence Police were dispatched following a 911 call for an unresponsive infant at 3454 Germantown Road. Upon arrival, they found the unresponsive infant and her father, Austin Stevens. Police immediately began CPR on the unresponsive baby, who was transported by ambulance to Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, where, despite resuscitation efforts, she was pronounced dead at 12:12 a.m. Lower Providence Police and Montgomery County Detectives processed the scene, began a joint investigation into the infant’s death and obtained a search warrant to download the defendant’s phone. The phone download showed that the defendant conducted multiple Google searches for nearly an hour before calling 911 with subjects that included If baby stop breathing, What if you don’t hear baby heart or beat, My baby isn’t breathing, and How do you know if a bsby is dead. Stevens also conducted social media and text conversations with two women during this time that were not related to the baby’s condition. Detectives recovered a diaper worn by the baby while she was transported to the hospital. The diaper was saturated with blood. The investigation is ongoing. On Sunday, Oct. 4, an autopsy on the infant was conducted by Dr. Frederick Hellman, a forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Dr. Hellman determined that Zara Scruggs was the victim of a sexual assault, sustaining anal rectal trauma and blunt force trauma to the head. The cause and manner of death is listed as pending, while awaiting additional forensic test results. This case is deeply disturbing. It is hard to imagine this child’s death being any more traumatic: sexual assault on an infant, followed by inaction by the father to save her life, led to her death, said Steele. Stevens was charged with Involuntary Deviant Sexual Intercourse, Rape of a Child, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Indecent Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child and related charges. He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar, who set bail at $1 million. The defendant was unable to make bail and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m., Oct. 13, 2020, before Judge Rebar. The case will be prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann, Jr. CRIMINAL CHARGES, AND ANY DISCUSSION THEREOF, ARE MERELY ALLEGATIONS AND ALL DEFENDANTS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL AND UNLESS PROVEN GUILTY.

What better way to learn the letter P while homeschooling than by having a Police Officer stop by your house!! Sgt. Stead visited with Tyler, Ella and James as a real life example of something starting with the letter P. He had an awesome time with his new friends and hope they enjoyed their souvenirs!!

Earlier this evening, LPPD responded to the report of a shooting that occurred in the 900 block of Jode Road. Officers responded and confirmed that no shooting took place. The call to police was a hoax. The incident is under investigation.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have received numerous complaints of thefts of political yard signs. Stealing yards signs is a crime and you will be prosecuted if caught. Please respect your neighbor's right to support the candidate of their choice. If you have information about a theft of yard signs, please call LPPD at 610-539-5901.

***The child has been reunited with her parents*** Our Officers found this young lady walking around the Eagle Duplexes around 7pm. She has special needs and cannot tell us where she lives. If you recognize her or know where she lives, please call Lower Providence Police immediately at 539-5901

Thank you Sierra and Andrew from Mission BBQ for stopping by with lunch. We appreciate the support and the food was delicious! *Integrity, Honor, Respect, and Courage*