Pennsauken cop killed off-duty… sad

One our own, killed:

According to the police report Soto was heading north on the Black Horse Pike in a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe when his vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a Pathmark tractor trailer. The truck driver, Lawrence J. Bochard, of Fords, NJ, was uninjured.

The cause of the collision is under investigation. Preliminary investigation suggests alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Officer Soto, age 27, resided in Pennsauken. He graduated Pennsauken High School in 1998, worked as an Information Officer for Pennsauken Police Department for two years before becoming a Police Officer in 2006. He was a member of the FOP Lodge #3, the Pennsauken School Board for five years and the Journey Youth Program.

Here’s a local news video clip:

Oops, jobs leaving Pennsauken

According to a recent item in the Philadelphia Inquirer,

Maksin Group, which sells health insurance to students, is moving its headquarters and 100 jobs to the Camden waterfront, from Pennsauken.

“This Ferry Terminal building is beautiful. As soon as I saw it, I focused my attention on Camden instead of Philadelphia or a suburban location,” Maksin president Thomas Smith said yesterday.

Thomas organized a bus tour to show the company’s planned home to Maksin workers, including skeptics.

“A lot of people don’t venture into Camden – they don’t go to shows, they don’t see baseball – so taking them down there was a big step,” he said.

The New Jersey state Economic Development Administration sweetened the move with grants, tax rebates, and up to $100,000 for tenant improvements and equipment. “We also had had incentives in Pennsauken,” Smith said.

While it’s not good news for Pennsauken, it’s great news for our neighbors in Camden. We wish Maskin success in their new Camden digs.

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Sexual predator in our midst?

It’s too early to say for sure but the following item in the Courier-Post made me take note:

A 30-year-old Pennsauken man was arrested this week in connection with one of several recent attempts to lure young girls in the city, officials announced Thursday.

Robert White is accused of following a 16-year-old Camden girl to McGraw School around 8:20 a.m. Dec. 18, officials said. Officials said White, who was on foot, repeatedly asked her “inappropriate questions” and offered to walk her to school.

The teenager reported the incident to school officials.

The Dec. 18 incident was one of nine between October and December in which teenage girls were either followed, abducted or sexually assaulted. Officials do not believe White was involved in any of the other incidents.

He was charged with fourth-degree endangering the welfare of a child and taken to Camden County Jail on $2,500. He has posted bail and is out of jail.

Composite sketch of Robert White

While the police don’t think that White had anything to do with those other incidents late last year, I’m comforted knowing one less weirdo is off the streets… at least for a while. We’ll keep our eyes out on this case.