December 24, 2024
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Truman Parks, 52, and Sydney Swain-Parks, 27, are facing criminal charges for their alleged roles in the stabbing of a security guard at a Five Below store in Cheltenham on Dec. 6, investigators say.
Two people were charged with attempted murder Monday for allegedly stabbing a security guard at a Five Below store in Cheltenham Township.
Truman Parks, 52, of Philadelphia, is accused of stealing $150 worth of items on Dec. 6 before stabbing the security guard. Sydney Swain-Parks, 27, of Philadelphia, who allegedly drove Parks to the store at the Greenleaf at Cheltenham mall, is being charged as an accomplice. The security guard, whose name has not been released, required emergency surgery for life-threatening injuries. He has since been discharged from Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital.
Parks first entered the store at 4:45 p.m., gathered merchandise and left without paying, investigators said. He allegedly returned to the store with the empty shopping basket at 5:15 p.m. The guard followed him out of the store, and security footage shows Parks and the guard engaging in a heated verbal exchange, investigators said.
At 6:26 p.m., Parks returned again, this time driven by Swain-Parks in a blue Jeep Liberty, investigators said. They each allegedly entered the store and looked around the aisles before Parks allegedly stabbed the guard from behind, punched him and fled the store. Swain-Parks calmly walked out to the parking lot, investigators said.
Police tracked the Jeep's license plate and found Swain-Parks had been involved in a minor car crash earlier that day, investigators said. They each have been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempts to cause serious bodily injury, conspiracy to engage in aggravated assault and related offenses. They have a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday.
