By Bonnie L. Cook
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — A paroled burglar who absconded from a Philadelphia halfway house Nov. 6 fired on police from his suburban motel room Sunday night, then apparently took his own life as a SWAT team closed in, according to police.
Police in Lower Providence Township said they issued a warrant for Ricardo Soraya Noris, 48, of the 3800 block of Germantown Pike, Collegeville, after they learned he was wanted for a parole violation.
When officers received a tip that Noris was staying at the Blue Eagle Motel on Ridge Pike in Collegeville, they knocked on his door and were met with “several gunshots” from inside the room.
“The gunshots narrowly missed striking the officers,” said Lower Providence Police Chief Francis L. Carroll.
The chief said officers did not return fire. Instead, they established a perimeter around the motel and called for the Central Montgomery County Special Weapons and Tactics team.
The team tried to contact Noris, but got no response. It did, however, glimpse him lying motionless on the floor.
When team members entered the room, they found Noris with a single gunshot wound, Carroll said. A handgun was recovered from the room.
Noris was pronounced dead at the scene by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. An autopsy was scheduled.
During the incident, several residents in the immediate area of the motel were evacuated or advised to stay inside. There was no one else staying at the motel, police said.
Ridge Pike was closed between Level and Eagleville Roads.
Noris, also known as Ricardo Norris, Ricardo Noris Sr., and Rico Noris, had a criminal past, Montgomery County court records show.
He was arrested March 19, 2009, under the name Ricardo Soraya Noris and charged with burglary, fixing and selling offensive weapons, criminal trespass, possessing an instrument of crime, and stalking.
On Jan. 5, 2010, Noris pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and was sentenced by Common Pleas Court Judge Steven T. O’Neill to between 18 months and five years in prison. He was on parole for that offense when he failed to return this month to his halfway house.
On Jan. 14, 2002, Norris was arrested for insurance fraud related to a 2001 auto accident and was sentenced to two years of prison with work-release, plus two years of probation.
He was also arrested Aug. 18, 1996, and in 1997, pleaded guilty to DUI and paid a $993 fine, court records show.
Copyright 2011 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC