Carjackings Linked To 2 Teens From Bensalem Children's Home

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —Two teenagers living in the St. Francis Home for Children have been charged in two carjackings and both are being held on bail between $3-5 million each, police said.

Tharyn Battis Jr., 18, and a 15-year-old were charged with robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, persons not to possess a firearm, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, and related charges.

Bensalem Police said the pair carjacked two vehicles. Officers arrested Battis at gunpoint.

Police said the crime spree started when a woman noticed five-to-seven males huddled in the parking lot at 4:15 a.m. Monday near her Oak Court home after she parked her vehicle.

A short time later, a man in his early 20s, wearing dark clothing and a mask, tapped on her window with a gun and ordered her out of the car. He then pointed the gun to her face and told her to give him her phone and walk away, police said.

The man entered her white Honda Pilot and sped away with another male passenger, police said.

Police tracked the vehicle utilizing cameras and automated license plate readers as it traveled north on Hulmeville Road and east on Park Avenue.

At 5:07 a.m., police discovered the stolen car in the Oak Court area. It was unoccupied.

At 5 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to Magnolia Court for the report of a vehicle theft in progress. Upon arrival, a Toyota Rav 4 had already been stolen.

Police immediately checked cameras and automated license plate readers and discovered that the vehicle was traveling West on Street Road.

Police attempted to stop the vehicle at the intersection of Street and Mechanicsville Roads when the vehicle's driver rammed the side of a police van and fled.

Police pursued the vehicle, and the passenger bailed out of the car near Byberry and Knights Roads and ran into a wooded area.

The suspect, later identified as Tharyn Battis Jr., 18, continued reaching toward his waistband while running away. Police took Battis into custody at gunpoint.

He was identified as a resident of the St. Francis Home for Children on Bristol Pike.

A K-9 track was performed, and police discovered a Glock 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, Battis’s cell phone, a vape pen, and a pocket knife in the wooded area where Battis was taken into custody.

The unoccupied, stolen Toyota Rav 4 was recovered in the 300 block of Penguin Drive a short time later, police said.

The Glock handgun was registered to a township resident and was reported stolen from a vehicle on Thanksgiving Eve.

During the investigation, the stolen Toyota Rav 4 driver was identified as a 15-year-old from Park Avenue.

It was also determined that Battis Jr. and the 15-year-old committed the carjacking that occurred the night before on Oak Court.

On Tuesday, Battis was arraigned by District Justice Joseph Falcone and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $3 million bail.

The 15-year-old was arrested at his home, arraigned by District Justice Joseph Falcone, and remanded to the Bucks County Youth Center (Edison) on 10 percent of $5 million bail.

Bensalem Police have had multiple criminal contacts with residents of the St. Francis & St. Vincent Home for Children on Bristol Pike and found that staff has little or no control over them.

It was discovered that several residents of St. Francis Home for Children went missing at the same time at 2:59 a.m. on Monday, just before the carjacking.

Still, staff only reported that Battis Jr. was missing, police said.

The St. Francis home is for troubled youth who commit crimes in Philadelphia and are court-ordered to live at the Bensalem facility.

In recent months, there has been a significant uptick in crimes committed in the Brookwood and Eddington sections of the township, specifically vehicle thefts and vehicle break-ins.

Bensalem Police are focusing investigations on the residents of the St. Francis home.

Police ask residents to be vigilant and dial 911 if they see any suspicious activity in their neighborhood.