Harold Leo Cost II, 32, of Philadelphia, was convicted of staging a shooting in the Melrose Park section of Cheltenham Township in April 2025, The Reporter said.

According to their coverage, Cost attempted to frame his ex-girlfriend for the shooting two years after he falsely accused her of similar allegations in Philadelphia.

He was convicted on charges of false reports to incriminate another person, tampering with physical evidence, and false alarm to an agency of public safety in connection with the incidents. He accepted a sentencing agreement which will see him spend two to six years in prison, The Reporter said.

An investigation began on April 27, 2025, when Cheltenham police responded Cost’s 911 call, during which he claimed his ex-girlfriend was shooting at him, The Reporter said. Three fired projectiles were recovered at the scene, according to police reports.

Police searched the area and found no sign of Cost’s ex-girlfriend, who subsequently provided detectives with surveillance video showing her inside her home at the time of the shooting, meaning Costa had fired the gunshots himself.

Authorities later learned staged a crime involving a firearm in front of his home in Philadelphia in November 2023. The ex-girlfriend also told detectives that she had an active protection from abuse order against Cost.

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