Abington Township Police Department Photo by James Short.
The gold-colored Chevy Malibu was found on Dec. 3.
When police ask the owner of a car if anyone has permission to be driving it, “Hell no,” might not be the best response. But that’s exactly what local officers heard during a recent traffic stop and investigation, which resulted in the recovery of a stolen vehicle.
Abington Township Police Department, while on duty on Dec. 3 around 6:08 a.m., witnessed a gold, Chevrolet Malibu vehicle with Pennsylvania tags traveling north on Old York Road near Woodland Road. Upon running the tags, police discovered that the car had a “dead plate” status, meaning it was not to be used. According to a police criminal complaint, the vehicle was also reported as stolen, stemming from a report on Nov. 2 in Philadelphia.
Upon this discovery, police said that they initiated a traffic stop with the vehicle and its sole occupant, the driver. The driver was identified as Amin Maurice Ducksworth, 27, of the 2200 block of North Sydenham Street in Philadelphia.
During the traffic stop, Ducksworth “admitted the vehicle was not his.” Additionally, he had not proof of purchase, registration, or insurance for the car, police said. When police reached out to the car’s owner, and asked if anyone was authorized to use the vehicle, he said, “Hell no.”
Ducksworth is charged with a felony count of receiving stolen property, as well as a misdemeanor count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, as well as summary offenses of driving an unregistered vehicle and operating a vehicle without required financial responsibility.
A $5,000 unsecured bail was set during a preliminary arraignment on Dec. 3 at 2:30 p.m. for Ducksworth. He is due to face a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge John D. Kessler on Jan. 23, 2025 at 1:45 p.m.
