The son of a Delaware County state representative was arrested for allegedly selling heroin in Upper Darby on Tuesday, police said.
Robert Davidson, 19, the son of state Rep. Margo Davidson, D-164th District, was apprehended by Upper Darby Police following a foot chase in the township's Stonehurst section at about 4:30 p.m.
He was arraigned Wednesday on charges of drug dealing, possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest for allegedly fleeing the scene when police stopped to investigate.
Officers reportedly confiscated 17 heroin packets, two cellphones and $125 in cash from Davidson.
Two other people who allegedly were attempting to buy heroin from Davidson also were arrested. Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said Nickolas Haselidis and James J. McKnight had sought drugs in the township because they were unable to travel to a methadone clinic in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood due to the SEPTA strike.
“They were just in the process of setting the deal up when police stopped (them)," Chitwood said Wednesday morning. "They had given Davidson $85 after they made an arrangement to meet Davidson over the phone. Apparently, they dealt with him before because they had his phone number.”
Reached by phone Wednesday morning, state Rep. Margo Davidson said she did not know her son had been arrested and that he no longer lived with her despite her home being listed as his address on the police report.
"He left home when he was 17, and I haven't seen him since," Davidson said. "I don't know where he lives. I didn't raise him like that, and I'm sorry he decided to live in the way that he does."
Davidson's district covers several Delaware County municipalities along the western edge of Philadelphia, including Upper Darby, Lansdowne and Yeadon. Davidson, a Democrat, is running for re-election next week against Republican Inderjit Singh Bains.
In 2013, Davidson's older son, Joel Robert-Arman Davidson, pleaded guilty in Delaware County to two sets of charges against him and was sentenced to five years probation.