Safety Coalition Camera Helps Police ID Suspect
Also Helps Locate Discarded Handgun

A Lancaster Community Safety Coalition camera helped police find a discarded handgun and identify a suspect after a fight, city police said.

While police were responding to the fight at 718 E. King St. on Wednesday night, a safety coalition member told them a surveillance camera had footage of a woman throwing a handgun under a car parked in the area, police said.

"With the assistance of the Safety Coalition, we detained that female and located the gun," city police Lt. Todd Umstead said. She is Denisha Antoinette Dixon, 19, of 547 Juniata St.

The recovered handgun, a .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol, had been reported as stolen in Toccoa, Ga., he said.

The 11:41 p.m. fight was reported in the hallway of the apartment building at 718 E. King St., and at some point it continued outside, he said.

"It started as a mutual fight between two males, and then it escalated," Umstead said. As officers arrived, several people tried to flee, but were detained.

One vehicle trying to leave the area struck a police cruiser causing minor damage, he said. No injuries were reported.

Police found a small bag of cocaine and 2.5 grams of marijuana in Dixon's bra, Umstead said. She was charged with receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and possession of a small amount of cocaine and marijuana.

Possible firearm charges against Dixon are pending a determination whether the gun can be fired, he said. She was sent to Lancaster County Prison on $10,000 bail.

Malik E. Deleon, 23, of 1205 E. Orange St., also was taken into custody at the scene of the fight, Umstead said. He allegedly had a clear sandwich bag containing 24 baggies with a total of 3.1 grams of crack cocaine inside them.

Police charged Deleon with possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine in a drug-free school zone, Umstead said. Resurrection Elementary School and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology are nearby.

Deleon was sent to county prison on $250,000 bail, Umstead said.

Police have interviewed several people about the fight and are still investigating.

Courtesy of Lancaster Newspapers, Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era
January 7, 2010

E-mail Ryan Robinson: rrobinson@lnpnews.com

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