Cops, Courts & Fire -Bensalem Township

Mont Co Man Sentenced up to 23 Months for Stalking, Terrifying Bensalem Woman

Published

7 months ago

August 15, 2025

A King of Prussia man will spend up to 23 months in Bucks County Prison for his obsessive stalking campaign of a Bensalem woman which forced her to move.

Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. sentenced Matthew John Bustin, 34, of King of Prussia, to nine to 23 months in county jail and seven years of probation. During the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Deputy District Attorney Brittney Kern presented a detailed timeline of Bustin’s actions, which included online searches of the victim before he contacted her on a dating site.

The timeline shows that in the weeks after the victim began communicating with Bustin, he was charged in a similar stalking case in Lehigh County. The victim only talked to Bustin for six weeks before his disturbing behavior led to her filing a police report.

In the Lehigh County case, Bustin was sentenced up to 24 months in prison following a stalking spree that included placing a GPS tracker on his victim’s car and sending eerie gifts in Bethlehem, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office announced earlier this year.

According to court records, when the Bensalem victim arrived back home from vacation she discovered the power to her apartment was cut, her internet connection was “manually” shut off and a security camera were disabled. She called Bensalem Police to report the suspicious incident, court records show with the investigation moving from unusual to downright terrifying.

“I truly believed there was someone in my apartment with me,” she stated. She said she waited in her kitchen with a knife and called a friend for help. She described the “scariest part” as “knowing someone had been in my apartment… yet still not knowing who would do this.”

She filed a police report the next day. Within two days of filing the police report, she was in so much fear that she moved out. The victim continued to sleep with a knife next to her bed. In what she described as “a heart-stopping moment,” she found a note tucked among the pillows. The discovery, which she described as a “sick psychological game,” confirmed her fears that Bustin was her stalker.

Bensalem Detectives examined her vehicle and located a GPS tracker on the underside of the vehicle. Investigators filed a search warrant to recover data from the tracking device. Tracker data showed that it began transmitting the location of the victim’s car on April 5, 2024, at the victim’s workplace in Montgomery County. The detective then obtained surveillance video from the business and observed a male get out of a black Honda Civic. He walks towards the victim’s car, lies on the ground, reaches underneath the vehicle, and then returns to his car. The male and the Honda Civic match the description of Matthew Bustin and the vehicle he drives, police said in the criminal complaint.

A second search warrant was obtained by police for Bustin’s cellular data which showed the suspect was in the area of the victims home and workplace at least nine times, the criminal complaint says, without her knowledge after she ended the relationship.

In her statement, the victim reflected on Bustin’s history, noting that he was charged in the Lehigh County stalking case around the time he called her for the first time. “The immediacy of recurrence is scary,” she said. “This is not the behavior of someone who has learned from past repercussions, and it isn’t the behavior of someone who feels remorseful,” according to a release from the DA’s office.

As a condition of his sentence, Bustin will not be eligible for parole until he completes the H.O.P.E. substance abuse recovery program. He has also been ordered to have no contact with the victim or on any social media sites. He must pay $1,334.60 in restitution, and comply with all mental health and drug and alcohol requirements, Bucks County authorities said.

As part of his supervision the Bucks County Department of Probation will get to legally stalk Bustin for seven years in a flip the script situation for the felon.

Related Topics:34 Matthew John Bustin of King of Prussia Stalker Stalking'

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Jeff Bohen

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Cops, Courts & Fire -Bensalem Township

Cops: Motorist Driving “Erratically” on Street Rd Arrested for Fleeing, DUI

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Jeff Bohen

A Langhorne woman spent a day in jail after she fled Bensalem Police who observed her driving erratically on Street Road last month locating the vehicle and its owner, ironically on the same block of funeral home.

According to the probable cause filing, on Saturday, Feb. 28, at approximately 10:23 p.m. Police were on routine patrol in the area of 3000 Street Road when officers observed a sliver Ford Explorer bearing a Pennsylvania registration MHS-**** driving erratically. Police attempted to initiate a traffic stop by activating lights and sirens.

The motorist, police said, fled west on Street Road at a high rate of speed.

Police in court papers said, the driver passed multiple vehicles on the right side and then ran through multiple steady red lights. Police lost track of the Explorer in the area of Street Road and Public Safety Way.

At approximately 11:35 p.m. police found the vehicle in the rear of 4737 East Street Road in Bensalem Twp.

Police initiated a second traffic stop by activating lights and sirens with back-up officers surrounding the Explorer so the motorist could not speed away again.

Police made contact with the driver and sole occupant, who was identified as 50 year-old Paige Holwood.

Holwood had bloodshot, glassy eyes, and the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her person which increased as she spoke. She was unsteady on her feet when she got out of the vehicle, according to coure papers.

Police came to the conclusion that she could not operate a motor vehicle safely, said the probable cause.

Holwood was transported back to Police Headquarters where she was read the implied consent form in its entirety and refused to submit to a blood test, the arresting officer said.

On-Call District Judge John T. Galloway arraigned Holwood in the early morning hours of Sunday on a felony charge of fleeing police, DUI and four related traffic offenses.

Galloway set bail at 10 percent of $25,000 and Holwood, unable to post bail, was remanded to County Jail. She paid the 10 percent on Monday and released. Holwood’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 26. Currently, she has no attorney of record, according to online court records.

Cops, Courts & Fire -Bensalem Township

Bensalem House Fire Kills One Woman, One Man Injured

Published

3 days ago

March 3, 2026

Jeff Bohen

A early morning Tuesday fire in Bensalem took the life of one woman and firefighters were able to rescue a man, community sources told Lower Bucks Source.

Bensalem fire companies were dispatched for the reports of a dwelling fire in the 2900 of Bellview Drive at around 2:45 a.m with possible entrapment.

Police officers on scene reported two residents were unaccounted for and believed to be inside. Fire crews initiated an aggressive quick search and attack of the fire, where a male was immediately located by the doorway, Bensalem Volunteer Fire Department, officials said.

The woman killed in the fire was located shortly thereafter, fire officials said.

Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the home, officials said.

An on scene witness said they saw a man was taken to the hospital by Bensalem EMS. His condition is unknown as of publication time.

The identity of the woman killed in the blaze has not been released

The fire caused the closure of Bellview Dr, from Morrow Drive to the entrance of Faust Elementary for several hours.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation of the fire marshal’s office.

“The thoughts and prayers of our entire department go out to the family and friends of those affected by this tragedy. It’s a sad day for our Nottingham Village families” said Bensalem Volunteer Fire Dept officials.

Cops

Emergency Crews Prepare for Incoming Blizzard as Lower Bucks Municipalities Declare Storm Plans

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Joanne Ames

Credit:: Veinna Carcel

Lower Bucks municipalities have declared disaster/snow emergencies in advance of the expected snow storm that the National Weather Service says will dump anywhere between 14 to 18 inches on the area.

A winter storm warning is still in effect from Sunday, Feb 22 to Monday, Feb 23.

Each municipality has its own link. For more information and updates, please click on their associated link.

Bensalem Township – Disaster Emergency declared immediately for the pending snow storm. Click here to see more details.

Bristol Borough – Snow information/requirements have been posted on their website. Click here to see the details.

Bristol Township – Snow Emergency effective 12 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 through 12 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. Click here to see more details.

Falls Township – Snow Emergency starts Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. and expires on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6 a.m. Click here for details.

Langhorne Borough – Snow Emergency starts Sunday, Feb. 22 at noon until Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. No parking. Click here for details.

Lower Makefield Township – Snow information has been posted on Meta. Click here to see the details.

Middletown Township – Snow Emergency is in effect from Sunday, Feb. 22 at 12 p.m. to Monday, Feb. 23 at 12 p.m. . Click here to see details.

Morrisville Borough – Snow Emergency is in effect from Sunday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. to Monday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. Click here to see the details.

Newtown Township – A Snow Emergency is in effect from 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 until 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Click here to see the details.

Penndel Borough – Snow Emergency has been declared from 12 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 2026, through 12 p.m. on Monday, February 23, 2026. Click here for more details and click here for more on the ordinance.

Tullytown Borough – Snow Emergency proclamation in effect from Sunday Feb. 22 – 6 p.m. to Monday Feb. 23 – 6 p.m. Click here to see more details.

Warminster Township – Disaster Emergency has been declared for the incoming snow storm, effective Sunday Feb. 22, 2026 at 12 p.m. through Tuesday, Feb. 24,2026 at 12 p.m.. Click here to see the details and click here to see the declaration from Township Manager Tom Scott.

Yardley Borough – Snow Emergency proclamation in effect from Sunday Feb. 22 – 4 p.m. to Monday Feb. 23 – 4 p.m. . Click here to see the details. and click here to see declaration/other information from Mayor Caroline Thompson.

The primary concern is safety. Take care of yourselves and check on neighbors and those who may be vulnerable.

Please stay safe, take all necessary precautions, and keep your devices charged.

Click here for updates from the National Weather Service

Click here for PECO’s outage map.