Tonight he can run but can he hide?
Eyewitness News has the story of an accused drug kingpin.
And police confront a mother who allegedly left her baby and toddler inside a hot car.
Eyewitness News at 6 begins right now.
Live from KYW3, you're watching Real People, Real News.
This is Eyewitness News at 6.
Good evening, I'm Dawn Sandsland in Forsyani Lee.
I'm Dave Frankel, topping Eyewitness News at 6.
Exclusive video that has an accused ecstasy kingpin, anything but ecstatic.
We caught up with him today as he was released on bail, but as you're about to see, he was
in no mood to talk.
Eyewitness News investigative reporter Walt Hunter is live in Hattboro, Montgomery County
with the story.
Walt?
Well Dave, the seizure of ecstasy pills here in Hattboro was huge.
Ten thousand, one of the largest ever in the history of Montgomery County.
Doctors are only now catching up on the impact of ecstasy, dehydration, brain damage, even
death caused by the drug.
Well, the alleged dealer William Lunney came out of the door here released on bail today.
We wanted to ask him about the charges and about the drugs he allegedly dealt.
But as you said, he was in no mood to talk to us.
What the hell out of our faces?
Friends of accused drug dealer William Lunney, in the blue and white striped shirt, tried
to hide him from us as he was released on bail, blocking our cameras, barraging us with
obscene gestures and words.
Don't touch me, that's a phone!
But while they tried to block our view, there's no disguising what Lunney's accused of.
Selling the drug ecstasy.
Nearly ten thousand pills allegedly found in his possession, along with 17 pounds of
high grade marijuana and 180 thousand dollars in cash.
District Attorney Bruce Castor.
These number of pills, at 25 dollars a pill, indicates to me that this is a wholesale operation.
Castor says the ecstasy pills and the pot were headed for holiday parties in eastern
Montgomery County and at the shore.
They're used as part of the club scene and he was preparing to meet the demand for the
summertime party season.
Police say Lunney allegedly ran his ecstasy dealing operation from his apartment at Eleanor
Court in Hatboro.
Neighbors like Chuck Jay were stunned.
It's quite a shock.
My upstairs neighbor had no idea anything was going on like this.
But Jay and the neighbors were also angry that the ecstasy was allegedly about to be
sold to teens and young adults in their community.
This is where my kids are and I know that they're pushing that stuff on young kids all
over the place and that really upsets me a lot.
For now, Lunney is free on 25 thousand dollars bail.
The drugs he allegedly intended to sell off the streets.
When asked what Lunney did for a living, the district attorney said he knew of only one
occupation.
I would say that his job is drug dealer.
Allegedly.
Now, in addition to the threat that the ecstasy posed to this community, prosecutors say they
also confiscated a cache of illegal fireworks from Lunney.
Finally, investigators say they've already moved beyond this suspect.
They want to know with this amount of cash and drugs who was supplying Lunney.
And that is where the investigation is now heading.
Live in Happero, Walt Hunter, KYW3 Eyewitness News.
Thank you Walt.
Now on to our other top story, the weather.
Whatever you are doing today, I hope you're staying cool.
We as you know are in the middle of a big heat wave.
Cold water is the only thing that can get you through a day like this.
Especially if you're playing outdoors like these folks, playing a pickup game of basketball
in Philadelphia here.
And this is what most of us were doing today.
Fanning the heat away, or at least trying to.
Some of the people sitting on this bench using newspapers there.
Others use towels or their arms to just wipe off the sweat off their faces.
Whatever worked in this oppressive heat.
Yuck.
And down the shore, the best place to be.
Ocean breezes.
We're live in Ocean City right now.
And these people are going na na na na na.
Nice breeze coming off the ocean there.
John Salem live in the weather center with First Weather.
John, beam me up to that shore, will you?
Oh absolutely.
I think this heat is going to continue and may get a little bit more oppressive before
it's all said and done with.
Take a look at the current numbers as you head out the door for some of you celebrating
a holiday weekend.
Because the fourth is in the middle of next week.
87 degrees northeast Philadelphia, 92 Willow Grove, 91 out in Mount Holly.
You say well these temperatures are all that hot.
But it's the humidity in the air, the moisture in the air that makes your body work harder
to cool itself down.
That's what we're watching out there.
And of course a heat warning is in effect for the area.
But first we look at the weekend and it looks like the heat and humidity will rise over
the weekend.
We will see a heat index of 100 to 105 degrees before relief coming on Monday.
I talked about the warnings.
Take a look at the areas that are covered in the warnings.
And that is basically all the counties surrounding the Philadelphia area.
That is a heat warning for urbanized areas.
We'll talk more on what it means to you in just a few moments.
Dave?
Thanks John.
Well of course the long hot summer is here.
But there's some relief on the way for some South Jersey seniors.
Eyewitness news in Glassboro, Gloucester County where seniors are beating the heat thanks
to a free fan program.
The Glassboro Senior Center is giving away free 20 inch fans to older residents in Gloucester
County.
Seniors like Marie Ewing and Antoinette Petroni are vulnerable to the heat and grateful for
the fan giveaway.
If we're eligible I wouldn't mind one, you know.
Every little bit helps doesn't it when you're on a fixed income.
I was shocked when I heard about it yesterday and now it's a lot of help to a lot of people.
Any senior in Gloucester County who needs a fan is eligible.
Just call the Gloucester County office on aging.
The number on your screen, 856-384-6919 to arrange for your free fan.
You know among the heat dangers we report every summer, perhaps the most serious involves
children locked inside cars while their parents go shopping.
In Northridge, California, an off-duty police officer spots a baby and a toddler inside
a van by themselves in 90 degree heat.
Can you imagine?
He pries open the window, passed a cup of water to the toddler there, the thirsty little
guy is drinking away.
Other officers arrive and when the kid's mom comes running out of a nearby store a half
hour later, they gave her quite an earful for leaving her children inside that hot car.
It's hot in the car.
It's very hot.
Do you know that?
Did you not think about that?
How would you like to be sitting up in the car without any back-enditioning?
Well the toddler was soaked with sweat from head to toe as you can see there.
The seven week old baby crying.
They were checked out at a hospital and sent home with their father.
And get this, their mother was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment.
Those officers may very well have saved her children's lives.
She told police she was buying food for her children while they were inside the van.
You would think it goes without saying, but we'll state the obvious to head off a tragedy.
Never leave your child alone inside a car when it's this hot outside, even if you have
the windows cracked.
Dr. Paul Ischmiede at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says keep in mind children
are smaller which means their bodies are affected by heat more quickly.
And it's hotter inside a car than on the outside.
It may not feel so hot outside, but once that heat gets trapped in the car it has nowhere
to go.
And so kids get very hot, or the inside of the car gets very hot very quickly, even when
it feels relatively mild outside.
Dr. Ischmiede says symptoms in children for heat stress include cramping, dizziness, headaches.
Remember a child can't express clearly how he or she may be feeling.
A judge puts the brakes on efforts to stop a septa fare hike on Sunday.
That ruling came in a lawsuit filed by consumer and community groups.
Eyewitness News reporter Keith Taylor is live at Philadelphia City Hall with more.
Keith?
Yeah, just a short time ago the judge ruled in favor of septa, so that means the rates
for public transportation will go up on Sunday.
Cash price going from $1.60 to $2.
Now these community groups filed a lawsuit.
They had an emergency hearing today which lasted all day long.
They were trying to get the judge to block the rate increase.
Block it up until an appeal.
There's supposed to be an appeal on this whole case in three and a half weeks.
Well, they wanted the judge to hold off on that rate increase.
Well, there will be another hearing next Friday.
It's the second half of this hearing.
The hearing next Friday is on the merits of the case.
And it's possible that a judge could rule against septa and roll back those rates.
Well, today the community groups were pretty disappointed with today's decision.
It is a harsh ship when it's hurting the poor.
I mean, when you pay septa, you're hurting yourself.
It's just like that.
And I think that we're going to see what happens Friday and we hope for the best.
We instructed senior citizens not to pay the new fare increase when they use public transit
and share a ride to just hand over the old fare, the 285.
I'm confident that when the judge looks at the record in this case, she will agree with
us that there's something wrong here, that you can't have a public hearing that actually
raises serious disputes, ignore the disputes and then do something different than you proposed
in the first place.
What we attempted to present today was that the board carefully considered all of the
interests in a very difficult decision.
And in the final analysis, they expressed real concern about those who are the most
frail amongst us and the school children and made adjustments in the fare proposal, keeping
those interests in mind.
Another hearing on the merits of the case next Friday.
The appeal on the rate hike is scheduled for July 24th.
We're live at City Hall.
I'm Keith Taylor, KYW3 Eyewitness News.
Thank you, Keith.
Still ahead, President Bush planning to party in Philadelphia next week.
Also ahead, reducing the unintended fear factor at amusement parks, a plan to make sure all
rides are perfectly safe.
And the police appearing at the Tweeter Center, but without sting.
The story when Eyewitness News continues.
I think
Hang out at the frat party of the year with Jordy Messina and Kermit the Frog.
Check out the Hollywood Squares College Tournament.
Yeah!
Tonight at 7.30 on KYW3.
Toyota Edition, bigger than.
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Welcome back to Eyewitness News at 6.
You are looking live at the beach in Ocean City
with ocean temperatures in the low 70s, a great place to cool off tonight.
Still some folks extending their day, getting an early start on the weekend
or late Friday there down the shore.
All those folks already down the shore, along with thousands headed that way,
will be filling boardwalk stores and other businesses this weekend.
Last year was the worst in 30 years for many businesses down the shore,
but this year everyone's more optimistic.
Rainy weather may have hurt businesses last summer,
but the warm weather has merchants seeing green.
And the economy is also helping shore merchants.
Many families are forgetting the more expensive vacation
and staying closer to home.
A lot of parents, a lot of people, especially parents,
will have this safety on their minds as they get on amusement rides at the shore.
It was in August of 99 that an accident on the Wild Wonder coaster in Ocean City
killed a mother and her child.
You remember us telling about this.
Well, now the state of New Jersey has tougher safety rules and inspections.
Let's get to Eyewitness News reporter Robin Taylor,
who joins us now live from Ocean City.
With more on keeping you and your family safe on the rides this summer.
Robin?
Well, Dawn, something interesting to tell you about new legislation
just passed the Senate, and if signed by the governor,
this bill will make New Jersey have the toughest laws in the country
when it comes to amusement park rides.
This is all designed to make sure a day at the park is a safe one.
What kids love about amusement parks is the sheer thrill of spinning out of control,
being scared to death, and then laughing and doing it all over again.
It was crazy. I didn't know it was going to start doing that.
It just started spinning out of nowhere. That was real crazy.
And that's the way it's supposed to be.
Yet an accident two years ago in Ocean City where a mother and daughter were killed
prompted the state to take a hard look at the safety of these rides.
This week, New Jersey lawmakers passed some of the toughest legislation in the country,
raising the fine from $5,000 to $50,000 for a violation of the safety regulations.
Will Mori is one of the owners of Mori's Peers.
It serves to give a complete analysis of the ride, not just a structural analysis,
but one with its systems and with its operating features and its safety features.
What's new is that the legislation gets manufacturers involved,
making sure rides are equipped with safety features so if something does go wrong,
it won't be catastrophic.
With the rider being responsible as well, it's a tremendous package,
and I think that one can visit a New Jersey amusement facility with a high level of confidence.
These safety precautions are in addition to daily inspections, which already take place.
It's something that's impressive to families like the Flavels from Connecticut.
This park's got a lot of safety measures they take.
Each ride you go on, they make sure the safety belt's on,
and they give you specific instructions over the intercom.
You can keep your hands in it all the time, but when you go to other parks, you don't find that all the time.
Again, these new regulations are all designed to make sure that you and your family have a safe ride at the park.
Now, under these new laws, manufacturers will have to submit detailed engineering plans
even before a ride can be built, and any accident anywhere in the country will have to be reported.
Live in Ocean City, I'm Robin Taylor, KYW3 Eyewitness News.
Now appearing at the Tweeter Center in Camden, more police.
The city has stepped up patrols at the arena because a number of tailgating parties have gotten out of hand.
Yeah, I'm talking about the real police officers last week alone.
Cops wrote 168 tickets for things like underage drinking and fighting.
They also confiscated 61 tanks of nitrous oxide.
Up next, where George Bush plans to party on an upcoming trip to Philadelphia.
Plus, as the rain returning for the weekend, John Stehlin has your Skycast.
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Thursday, July 5th. The real fireworks begin when Big Brother 2 premieres.
New housemates, new rules, and a whole new season of the most controversial show on television.
Don't miss Big Brother 2. Premieres CBS Thursday, July 5th.
KYW3 Eyewitness News delivers traffic and transit on the 2's weekdays from 5 to 7 a.m. at 2, 12, 22, 32, 42, and 52 after the hour.
Traffic and transit on the 2's weekdays from 5 to 7 a.m. on Eyewitness News.
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President Bush plans to celebrate July 4th right here in Philadelphia, birthplace of democracy.
The Commander-in-Chief arrives at the airport 1 p.m.
Heads straight to a block party on North Broad where he may flip some burgers.
3 o'clock he's going to check in at the Warwick Hotel in Center City.
He's going to shower and change clothes there.
Then 4 p.m. Mr. Bush will be at Independence Hall to help honor U.S. Secretary Kofi Annan
at the annual Liberty Medal ceremony.
And if everything stays on schedule, at 6 o'clock the President boards Air Force One and heads back to Washington.
And I guess John Stalen, you're going to hop aboard Air Force One with him and go for a little ride, is that right?
Do you know that he's going to shower?
My sources tell me.
What kind of soap is that?
I don't know, it was in the story, I swear. It's a little too much information, I know.
It's going to shower. It's not going to bathe.
It's going to be hot.
We are.
We're going to need a shower.
We should be showering regularly across the area.
Take a look at what's going on.
That antiperspirant isn't working.
Mount Pleasant out there, Orchards in Richwood, New Jersey.
Look at the peaches, almost ripe to pick.
Nice and juicy, cool down with these.
Take a look at the watches and warnings for the area, what we've been talking about.
We're talking about a heat warning in effect for the area surrounding Philadelphia.
That would be Montgomery County, Bucks County, the urban areas.
Mercer, Burlington, Gloucester. This is in effect for the whole weekend.
That means we can expect heat indices up to 100, 105 degrees.
92 the high today, 74 the low.
Well above normal for both counts of the high and the low.
And it looks like we're going to get warmer as we head into the weekend, too.
52 percent humidity right now.
Wind from the west southwest, 14 miles an hour.
A lot of falling barometer temperature around 91 degrees at the airport.
Around the area, not as warm, but it still feels that way with more moisture in the air.
89 Willow Grove, 88 out into Mount Holly.
Here it is, clear skies, plenty of sunshine for today.
But see the real white clouds starting to pop up.
Those are those showers, those afternoon thunderstorms.
Weather forecasters say a chance of an afternoon shower or thunderstorm.
Well, that's what these are.
And we're seeing some heavier showers and thunderstorms right down 76,
right into the northern part of the city right now.
So we're watching that as it moves along.
So watch out for a scattered shower in Montgomery, Bucks County right now.
Nothing to worry about.
No flood potential in those.
All right, temperatures for tomorrow will be into the low to mid 90s
with the humidity increasing from the south.
And that means a heat warning is in effect.
Watch out for that chance of an afternoon shower or thunderstorm.
Moisture in the air, the temperatures are warm, instability.
You know all the deal.
And that could cause an afternoon shower or thunderstorm for tomorrow.
Heading down the shore, 89 Ocean City, Atlantic City, 88 degrees.
Not too bad.
Not much of a sea breeze, partly sunny and hazy for the Poconos.
86 degrees.
Take a look at skycasts as we put it into motion tonight.
We'll see some clouds and some haze out there for tonight.
Quick shower for tomorrow, maybe.
That chance there, an afternoon thunderstorm, sunny clouds, 94 degrees as well.
And then for tomorrow night, we look for temperatures around 72.
And we'll see fairly dry skies, maybe a quick shower out there.
Here's the five-day forecast for you as it pops on in.
Temperatures, 94 degrees.
Heat index, 100, 105 degrees for Sunday.
It's going to be sticky.
Drink plenty of fluids.
Watch your animals and keep them out of the cars at the grocery stores.
Dave?
Thanks, John.
Coming up tonight on Eyewitness News at 11, artificial intelligence.
In case you haven't heard, this is Steven Spielberg's new movie out this weekend.
But can fiction become reality?
Are robots that look, talk and have emotions like humans something we'll see in our lifetime?
Tune in for some answers tonight at 11.
We're going to replace anchor people.
Oh, God, well, that wouldn't be hard.
There's more to come on Eyewitness News at 6.
The Flyers make a big move today.
G-Cob, up with the story next.
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Carry a crowd in the average compact SUV?
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Steve Bucci's off. G. Cobb is here, and the Flyers are making some news.
They're going after their championship, no doubt about that.
The Flyers were busy today. No, they haven't traded Eric Lendross, but they added a big-name player to their front line.
GM Bob Clark announced that they have agreed in principle the terms on a five-year contract with Phoenix Coyote Center Jeremy Roenick.
The deal is reportedly worth $37.5 million.
Roenick, a six-time All-Star and two-time 50-goal scorer, led the Coyotes with 30 goals and 76 points last season.
The move will be official on Monday after Roenick becomes a free agent.
In addition to Roenick, the newly acquired Yuri Dopeita gives the Fly Guys plenty of depth at the center position.
Clark says he loves what Roenick brings to the Flyers.
Roenick has scored 50 goals in this league. He's one of the more exciting players in the league.
He's a combative player. I think the fans are going to love him.
He can really skate, and he hits, and he can handle a puck. He's been a premier player in this league for a long time.
I know he'll do a great job for us. How he plays is exciting in itself.
He's always aggressive, and he's going to be a great addition to our hockey team.
Go JR. The Phillies look to build on yesterday's success against the Marlins again tonight.
Game time is 7-0-5 at the vet. Bruce Chin goes for the Phils. Chuck Smith for the Fish.
Huge day yesterday for Robbie Obreggo, the game one of the doubleheader.
He got things going for the Phils with a two-run shot in the first inning.
Then he kept him in front. Here, you got to watch this throw.
He makes a great throw here to nail Luis Castillo at home plate to end the seventh.
The Phils won that game, game one, 6-5. Nice throw. Nice play there by the catcher, too.
In the night, Capobrejo, the hero again, this time with a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth.
The Phillies on top for good, winning it 8-7 to sweep the doubleheader from the Marlins.
So with the sweep, the Phils move back into a first-place tie with the Braves.
Here's how the NLE standings stack up. The Phils and Braves tied at the top.
Florida falls the three and a half games out while the Mets and the Expos bring up the rear.
The 16th annual Shop Right LPGA Classic got underway this morning at the
Seaview Resort Bay Course in Upseac in New Jersey.
The shot of the day belongs to Gene Bartholomew on the 13th hole, a par three, just 106 yards off the tee.
Now, don't you wish you could do this? Right into the hole.
A two-and-one, nice shot, but your leader is Pat Hurst, finishing up with a birdie here on 18.
Hurst shot a first round 63, good for eight under and a two-stroke lead after one round.
You guys play like that, right?
Not really. When I can stand there and throw it in, maybe.
And it does hit the ladies' tees, so.
Oh, now why you talk about John like that?
Are you going to take that?
Uh-oh, that's Eyewitness News at 6 on that note. Thanks for being with us.
Keep cool on Dawn Stensland.
I'm Dave Frankel. The CBS Evening News is next. Larry Kane at 11. Have a good night and a great weekend.