An Olney man is charged with the attempted murder of his 7-year-old sister, after being arrested Wednesday in the back of a police car parked outside Philadelphia’s 35th District police station.
According to police, 18-year-old Simere Alford, of the 5500 block of N. American Street, has been arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, simple assault, unlawful restraint, robbery, theft and related charges.
Police said that Alford was arrested after he was discovered at about 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, in the parking lot of the 35th district, at 5960 N. Broad St.
Alford reportedly broke into the backseat of a police car and, when discovered, told police he had “done something stupid,” Philly.com reported.
Simere was sought by police following an incident that, law enforcement officials said happened at about 1:10 a.m. that same day, when police responded to Alford’s home when his mother told police that he had stolen her car.
Police said Alford’s mother told officers that her son was “high on narcotics” and took her vehicle. However, law enforcement officials said that when Alford’s mother – who police did not identify – went into her home to obtain paperwork for her vehicle for the officers, she returned about three minutes later “screaming and holding her 7-year-old daughter who was unresponsive.”
The girl’s mother said she found her daughter on the floor in the basement with a plastic bag over her head before rushing her upstairs to the officers outside.
She had last seen her daughter in her bed at 11 p.m., police said.
The responding officer performed CPR on the girl as police transported her to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where, law enforcement officials said, she was revived and placed in extremely critical condition.
The girls has been transferred to St. Christopher’s Hospital, and the mother’s vehicle was located, unattended, at 3rd and Champlost Streets, according to police.
Alford was believed to have been under the influence of K2, a synthetic form of marijuana, Philly.com reported.
