Cuthbert Blvd. Burglary Suspects Had Dum-Dum Ammo

Three Philadelphia men arrested not far from the scene of an attempted burglary at Bishop's View Apartments Tuesday were reportedly armed with a handgun, the serial numbers of which had been filed off, and dum-dum bullets.

Khalil T. Smith, of West Lenox Street, James H. Haines, of North Reese Street and William M. Jefferson, of North Marshall Street, were arrested after the alleged attempted burglary turned into a home invasion, police said.

Smith, Haines, and Jefferson, who fled the complex in a black Volvo SUV, were caught just a half-mile away, on Cuthbert Boulevard, minutes after the attempted burglary was reported around 9:20 a.m.

The three were all taken into custody after a brief standoff that had eyewitnesses saying they'd never seen anything like it, as heavily armed officers took up positions around the SUV.

“The only thought I had was, ‘Get the hell out of here,'” said Allie Burger, 32, of Oaklyn, who was driving across the Cooper River bridge at the time.

“It looked to me at that moment that it could have played out any which way.”

When the three men were captured, police said they also found a defaced handgun and dum-dum bullets—a common euphemism for hollowpoint or soft-point, expanding bullets, which are designed to mushroom and do more damage after impact.

Each of the three men was charged with robbery, burglary, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a defaced firearm, possession of an unlawful firearm and possession of dum-dum bullets.

All three face an individual full cash bail of $325,000.