Truman Jermaine Parks (Image courtesy of the Montgomery County DA)
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Cheltenham Township Police Chief John Slavin announce the arrest of Truman Parks, 52, and Sydney Swain-Parks, 27, both of Philadelphia, on charges of Criminal Attempt of Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Aggravated Assault, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and related charges in connection to an assault of a security guard on Dec. 6, 2024. The initial incident was previously covered by Willow Grove Now here.
On Dec. 6, 2024, Cheltenham officers were called to the Five Below at Greenleaf in Cheltenham for a reported stabbing. Officers arrived to find a victim with life-threatening injuries, going in and out of consciousness and lying in a pool of blood. He was transported to Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital where he was taken into emergency surgery and later released.
Detectives reviewed surveillance footage and found that the suspect, later identified as Truman Parks, had entered the Five Below three times throughout the day on Dec. 6, 2024. One of those times was at approximately 4:45 p.m., when Truman Parks is observed entering the store and placing $150 worth of store merchandise inside of a store basket.
He left the store without paying for the items and without a confrontation. Shortly after at 5:15 p.m., he came back to return the empty Five Below basket. The victim, who was the store’s security guard, followed Truman Parks out of the store where surveillance video captures the two engaged in a “heated verbal exchange.”
At 6:26 p.m., Truman Parks returned to the store for the third time in a blue Jeep Liberty that was being driven by a woman, who was later identified as Sydney Swain-Parks.
Sydney Swain-Parks (Image courtesy of Montgomery County DA)Video surveillance shows that they both enter the store and look down the aisles until they observe the victim. Truman Parks then approached the victim from behind and stabbed him. The victim is seen frantically fighting for his life, attempting to get away. After punching the victim, Truman Parks then runs past the victim and flees the store. Sydney Swain-Parks then calmly steps around the victim and walks out of the store.
Detectives searched the vehicle’s license plate through the Automatic License Plate Reader registry and found a car matching the description. It was found that the same vehicle was involved in a minor crash earlier in the day. The driver at the time of the accident was identified as Sydney Swain-Parks.
Through PennDOT records, an address was found for Sydney Swain-Parks, showing Truman Parks also had previously resided at the residence. The PennDOT photo of Truman Parks matched the video surveillance.
Truman Parks and Sydney Swain-Parks were arraigned at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2024, by Magisterial District Judge Dara Nasatir. Bail was set for Truman Parks at $10 million cash and $500,000 cash for Sydney Swain-Parks. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 30, 2024. The defendants will be prosecuted by Assistant Chief Katheen McLaughlin.
