Abington PD Involved in Regional Burglary Task Force

Abington Police Deputy Chief John Livingood said the man arrested in northeast Philadelphia on Monday may be involved in a large number of residential burglaries in Abington dating back as far as a year. 

Derrick Carter, 33, of the 4600 block of Sheffield Avenue, Philadelphia, was arrested Monday following the work of a multi-jurisdictional burglary task force. Carter is suspected of being involved in a burglary ring that spans the Delaware Valley.

“We were actively surveilling him on Monday in Delaware County in the 4200 block of Bryn Mawr Avenue,” Livingood said.

Livingood didn’t say much about the task force, but he said that the surveillance included police officers hanging out in Dumpsters.

Livingood said Carter was specifically arrested for burglaries that happened this week, but added that the task force has been looking into several burglaries over the past couple of months. Livingood said Carter may be linked to some burglaries in Abington that date back as much as a year.

“We think [Carter is involved] in a large number of burglaries, but he’ll probably be charged with fewer,” Livingood said.

So far, Carter has only been charged with one or two burglaries in New Castle County, Del., and one burglary in Lower Merion. However, Livingood said he hopes Carter is charged with local burglaries within the next couple of weeks.

According to Livingood, Carter burglarized residential properties in the daytime, prying in the front or rear door usually. He took jewelry and electronics, including TVs and likely acted with at least one accomplice. 

“We believe he’s selling these things somewhere,” Livingood said. “On a number of occasions he knocked on the door and was confronted with a homeowner … so he’d give the homeowner a bogus story — like he was looking for something or he would just ask them a question.” 

Livingood said the ongoing investigation is very involved and in its early stages.

“It only worked because different jurisdictions shared information with each other,” he said.

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