SEPTA Powerball winner accused of threatening police official
Joseph C. Byrd, one of 48 transit employees who split $172.7 million jackpot last year, now faces criminal counts.
ONE MIGHT think Joseph C. Byrd would be flying high right about now, given that he was one of 48 SEPTA employees who won a $172.7 million Powerball jackpot last April.
Think again.
Byrd, 44, of West Philadelphia, allegedly ran amok at SEPTA's Market Street headquarters Feb. 18, shouting obscenities, leading cops on a foot chase into Market Street traffic and telling SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel III, "I'm going to f------ shoot you in the face," according to an arrest affidavit obtained Monday by the Daily News.
The bizarre episode concluded with four or five SEPTA cops taking Byrd into custody and involuntarily committing him to a mental-health facility, the affidavit said.
Byrd, a transit-system custodian since March 2002 and currently assigned to the headquarters building at 12th and Market, was charged March 13 with making terroristic threats, resisting arrest, harassment, defiant trespassing and related offenses.
Released on $5,000 bail, Byrd is scheduled for an April 15 hearing, according to court records. He has yet to hire a lawyer, the records indicate.
It's not clear why it took more than three weeks for charges to be filed.
Why a man who received about $2 million before taxes - the "SEPTA 48" opted for the $107.5 lump-sum payout - would become so unhinged is still a mystery.
"It was extremely usual," said Nestel.
"He's a very likable guy," Nestel said, before adding that he nevertheless took Byrd's threats seriously. "He's a very physically strong individual, and it was certainly a frightening situation."
Employee-privacy rules prevent SEPTA from disclosing details about the incident, said spokeswoman Jerri Williams, who confirmed that Byrd is still a SEPTA employee.
The affidavit states that during the incident Byrd "complained loudly about tax paperwork," and that Nestel was advised by officers that he had prior mental-health issues.
"Chief Nestel is aware that Byrd was a SEPTA winner of the lottery and has received more than hundreds of thousands of dollars," SEPTA Police Detective Eltor Sumpter wrote in the affidavit. "Chief Nestel informed me that he has spoken with Joseph Byrd's supervisor, and they are afraid of him and in fear for their safety and because of that, there has been reluctance to take action on his incident and on multiple prior incidents."
Nestel declined to comment on the affidavit.
Byrd was on medical leave at the time of the Feb. 18 incident and was not permitted to enter the building when he used his employee card to swipe himself in at about 7 p.m., according to the affidavit.
When alerted of Byrd's presence, Nestel helped officers search several floors for him and eventually followed him on to Market Street, where he caused traffic to stop, the court document states.
Since the SEPTA workers hit the jackpot, 36 winners are still with SEPTA, 10 have retired and two have moved on, Williams said.
Attempts to reach Byrd were unsuccessful. Court records gave his address at two West Philadelphia homes - one on Union Street near Aspen Street, the other on Pennsgrove Street near 42nd Street.