New trouble for suspect in officer's death

William Foster, the career criminal charged with killing Philadelphia Police Sgt. Timothy Simpson last month in a traffic crash, added two more lines to his lengthy rap sheet yesterday.

Foster, 41, pleaded guilty to theft and shoplifting charges in Bucks County Court. The crimes occurred three months apart, in different areas of the county, while Foster was wanted for a parole violation in New Jersey. No sentencing date was set.

Foster, of Levittown, remains in prison in Philadelphia, charged with third-degree murder and other crimes in the Nov. 17 death of Simpson. Foster awaits a preliminary hearing in that case.

Police say Foster, a longtime heroin addict, was fleeing from officers after a drug buy when his speeding car slammed into Simpson's cruiser in Port Richmond.

Foster had been sought since July for violating his parole in New Jersey, where he had served time on drug-related charges.

New Britain Township police arrested him Aug. 7 and charged him with stealing power tools from a plumbing contractor. Despite a parole-violation warrant from New Jersey, he was released on bail after spending four days in the Bucks County prison, and no one notified New Jersey authorities.

In early November, police in Middletown Township arrested Foster and charged him with stealing razor blades from a grocery store. Again he was allowed bail without New Jersey authorities being alerted.

The retail theft was prosecuted as a felony because Foster had at least two prior shoplifting convictions, Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert James said.

In 2007, Bucks County Court President Judge David Heckler placed Foster on 17 years' probation for heroin possession and theft charges. A probation violation hearing before Heckler has been scheduled for Dec. 29.