Chest County Crime: Porn Charges, Drunk Driving

These are some of the crime stories covered by West Chester Patch, Malvern Patch, TE Patch and Phoenixville Patch in the last week.

Phoenixville Teacher Arrested on Child Porn Charges:  Kenneth Ford Hamilton Jr.,58, of the 800 block of Kimberton Road in Phoenixville, was arrested Sunday following a state police investigation in to child pornography being shared on the Internet. He is being held in Chester County Prison on $250,000 bail.

West Chester Police Arrest 600 in Three Months:  The West Chester Police Department have arrested over 600 people between mid-August and December on smaller, quality-of-life crimes, according to a release from the department.

Hearing Pushed Back for Malvern Shooting:  Merritt Dudas, the 24-year-old Collegeville man who allegedly shot and killed 21-year-old Malvern resident Drew Ferguson, was scheduled to appear in Chester County court on Nov 27 for a preliminary hearing. According to court documents, Judge Thomas Tartaglio continued Dudas’ hearing. 

Stolen Backhoe: A Lancaster County man is in prison awaiting trial on charges he stole a backhoe from the Route 202 construction site and then took it on a 2 hour and 15 minute joy ride down major highways into Philadelphia.

Man Crashes Into Cop Car: Police arrested a Chester Springs man on DUI charges after he crashed his car into a police vehicle in West Chester, according to a report from the police department.