Maryland murder suspect arrested in North Philly

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — What started as a traffic violation in North Philadelphia Sunday night ended with a murder suspect in custody.

According to our partners at NBC10, officers say they stopped a blue pickup truck a little after 11 p.m. in Juniata Park. They ran its plates and found it was wanted in connection with a homicide that happened in Maryland the day before.

When officers went to approach the car, the driver sped off, leading police on a chase.

The driver then slammed into two cars illegally parked in the median along the 4000 block of Castor Avenue, then hit other cars parked on both sides of the street.

Police say two people were inside the pickup truck. They were both taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The truck, which was totaled in the crash, allegedly belonged to a victim who was murdered in Queens County, Maryland.

Philadelphia Police Inspector DF Pace said the truck driver is being held as a suspect in that homicide. Police will extradite him to Maryland to face charges.

Pace says he is also expected to face charges for the Philadelphia incident.