Crime & Safety

Police Log: 'You Should Know There is a Gun in This Bag;' Syringes Found at Church

The following incidents were reported by the Lower Moreland Police Department.

June 12 – Warrants

  • 120 Tomlinson Rd. – Philmont Train Station

LMPD observed a grey Ford Explorer parked in the lot of the Philmont Train Station after hours and while SEPTA trains were no longer running. The male, Lewis Devaughn Jr., 38, of Philadelphia, told police he works for Five Star Ambulance Company and was going to sleep for a couple hours before his shift started.

While checking for warrants a bench warrant was discovered out of Bucks County – for writing bad checks – and he was detained. The Bucks County Sherriff’s Department later picked him up.

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June 10 – Narcotics Possession

  • 2200 block of Pine Road

Following a fight with his girlfriend at McDonald’s, Ronald Bachman, 33, of Trevose, decided to walk it off towards Welsh Road. Police responded to the report of a suspicious person, who was seen lifting his hands in the air and kneeling on the sidewalk before he even saw police arrive.

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A computer check for Bachman revealed that he had a warrant for possession of heroin out of Philadelphia. The confirmation of those facts made police take him into custody. During a search the following were found:

  • Blue tinted Ziploc baggy with a white powdery residue
  • Black tinted Ziploc baggy with a white powdery residue
  • Clear Ziploc baggy with a white powdery residue
  • Clear Ziploc baggy containing 4 small white pills stamped “54 142,” suspected Methadone Hydrochloride (10mg)

June 9 – Suspicious Persons

  • New Life Community Church – 2680 Huntingdon Pike

A group of members of the New Life Community Church were doing landscaping work on the front of the church building when they found two syringes with orange caps in the parking lot. Earlier in the week, numerous similar syringes were found when a large amount of shrubs were being removed.

June 8 – Public Drunkenness

  • 10 block of Tomlinson Rd.

Police observed two males wearing all dark clothing walking together, but then they appeared to hide in shadows along Tomlinson Rd. once they saw the police car.

One officer tracked down Maksim Shestov, 23, of Philadelphia, who was seen crossing the property of Pumps Inc., a business that has been burglarized in the past. Shestov had a plastic bag over his right shoulder. Upon questioning, Shestov told the officer, “You should know there is a gun in this bag.”

Police confiscated the bag and found Shestov to possess a non-resident handgun permit from VA and claimed that his permit to carry. At this time another officer tracked down the other male, Yuriy Edelev, 23, of Philadelphia, and the two claimed they did not know each other.

A check of the plastic bag revealed an unloaded Desert Eagle .50 cal handgun and a box of .50 cal bullets (20) along with a portable hard drive. Shestov performed a breath sample and registered a 0.91 BAC, and will be given a citation for public drunkenness. 

The gun was found to be purchased legally, but it wasn’t registered to anyone.

June 4 – Counterfeiting

  • Area of Pine Rd. & Red Lion Rd.

Police were called after the report of a “hit and run” crash. The driver stopped at a red light at the intersection of Red Lion and Pine roads when the offender struck the left rear of the car, and then fled the scene.

About an hour later police stopped the Green Expedition driven by Antonio Walker, 32, of Philadelphia, who admitted he had been involved in a car accident earlier in the day. He said he did not stop because the other driver was honking his horn, and Walker thought that meant everything was okay and all was well. Walker told police he was going to be late for work and felt that was more important that stopping to exchange information.

Walker then provided a faulty insurance card from First Liberty Insurance. The company verified the account was a fake. Walker has multiple priors for similar incidents, and it was discovered the car was uninsured at the time of the accident.

Walker has the following charges pending: Altered, Forged, or Counterfeit Documents and Plates, Accidents Involving Damage to Attended Vehicle or Property and related charges.


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