Attempted Burglary

Someone tried to break into a house in the 700 block of Valley Forge Avenue while the homeowner was asleep early in the morning on Saturday, March 5, but the would-be burglar was scared off before he could get inside, according to Lt. Charles Edgar, spokesman for the Lawrence Township Police Department.

The 66-year-old resident told police she was roused from her sleep about 4 a.m. by a noise she heard downstairs. But she dismissed the noise at the time, thinking it was probably one of her pets knocking something over, Edgar said.

But later the day, the woman spotted that a window at the rear of her house was partially open. She then noticed that an outside chair had been placed directly below the window. Realizing that someone had tried to break into her home, the woman called police at 9:29 a.m. Saturday, Edgar said.

He said police are still investigating the crime. He said that it is very possible that the would-be burglar, while trying to force open the window, made the noise that awoke the homeowner and fled in fear of being discovered.

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Disorderly Conduct

Ashley L. Diggs, 24, of the 800 block of East State Street in Trenton, was charged with disorderly conduct after she allegedly refused to pull her pants up inside Quaker Bridge Mall, according to Edgar.

Diggs was reportedly walking around the mall, in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), about 6 p.m. Saturday with her underwear visible, Edgar said. He said mall security officers approached Diggs, advised her of the mall’s dress code, and asked her to “pull her pants up.”

Edgar said Diggs allegedly started yelling obscenities at the security guards and became so unruly that she scared “numerous children” nearby. Police were contacted and Diggs was arrested by Officer Steve Simon, he said.

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Drug Arrest

A Rider University student was charged with possession of marijuana inside a campus dormitory during the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, March 6.

Edgar said township police were summoned to the campus at 2083 Lawrence Rd. (Route 206) at 3:32 a.m. after Rider security officers, acting on a tip about an odor of burnt marijuana coming from a room in the Hill residence hall, allegedly found student Brandon L. Diaz, 20, of Brick Township in possession of a small bag of suspected marijuana.

Diaz, who was a visitor to the room, was arrested by Officer Thomas Maple, Edgar said, noting that none of the other people who were in the room at the time have been charged with any offenses thus far.

Township police and Rider University officials are continuing to investigate.

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Fraud   

A 36-year-old resident of the 2700 block of Lawrence Road (Main Street/Route 206) contacted police at 6:52 p.m. on Friday, March 4, to report that she had just learned that someone had used three of her credit and debit cards to make multiple fraudulent purchases since Jan. 5.

More than $15,000 in fake purchases had been made using the victim’s Discover credit card, while more than $1,100 had been charged to the victim’s two debit cards, according to Edgar.

What is unusual about the crime, Edgar noted, is that the victim is still in possession of all three cards that were fraudulently used. Suspecting that someone may have taken the cards, then returned them after using them, police are investigating exactly who has had access to the woman’s home and her belongings since January.   

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Fraud   

Management at the Acme supermarket in the Lawrence Shopping Center at Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) and Texas Avenue notified police at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, that the store had just learned that a stolen credit card had been used by a woman back in November to buy two gift cards – one worth $500 and another worth $400 – as well as a can of soda and some cigarettes, Edgar said.

He said police are working to identity the female suspect, a detailed description of whom is not available at this time.

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Simple Assault

Two women were arrested after they allegedly got into a fight over a man at Quaker Bridge Mall, while the man himself was taken into custody because he was found to be wanted on an outstanding warrant from Trenton.

Tahree L. Miller, 18, of Mary Street, Hamilton, and his girlfriend, Briana Jones, 18, of Beechwood Avenue, Ewing, were walking through the mall about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, when Miller was approached from behind by his ex-girlfriend, a 16-year-old Trenton resident, according to Edgar.

Edgar said the 16-year-old allegedly hit Miller in the back of the head. He said Miller pushed the 16-year-old away, but Jones allegedly went after the 16-year-old and the two girls started to fight.

After police and mall security broke up the fight, both the 16-year-old girl and Jones were arrested and charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, Edgar said.

Miller, meanwhile, was also charged with disorderly conduct and was taken into custody in connection with a $3,500 warrant that had been issued for his arrest by the Trenton municipal court, Edgar said. Details of the warrant against Miller were not available.  

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Thefts

Edgar said township police are investigating the following recent thefts:

• The theft of an exterior air conditioner valued at $400 was reported at 2:52 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. The unit was stolen from Building 5 of White Pine Apartments on White Pine Circle.
• A Samsung cell phone worth $450 was stolen from the Sprint kiosk at Quaker Bridge Mall by a woman who allegedly put the item in her pocket and walked away. The theft was reported at 1:03 p.m. on Friday, March 4.
• Three pre-paid cell phones – worth a total of $115 – were stolen from the CVS pharmacy at Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) and Darrah Lane about 5 p.m. on Friday, March 4, by a man who pretended to stand in line and then walked out the front door. The man was described as white, in his late 20s, 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall, about 250 pounds, wearing a black baseball cap, a mustard-colored hoodie, black sweatpants, and white high-top sneakers. He fled in a white Chevy Impala.  

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Shopliftings

Edgar reported on the following individuals who were recently charged with shoplifting at Quaker Bridge Mall:

• A 16-year-old boy from Trenton was arrested at 1:46 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, after he allegedly walked out of the Sears department store with $20 worth of stolen clothing concealed on his person.
• A 17-year-old girl from Trenton was arrested at 6:36 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, for allegedly stealing $48 worth of clothing from the J.C. Penney department store. The girl allegedly picked out some clothing and went into a changing room. Store security officers became suspicious when the girl exited the changing room without the items. Finding the changing room empty, security officers stopped the girl after she walked out of the store. They then allegedly found the stolen merchandise stuffed inside her purse.
• Gamonoves Baptiste, 41, of the 100 block of Reeves Avenue, Hamilton, was arrested about 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, after he allegedly walked out of the Sears department store with an $80 pair of leather shoes – for which he had not paid – concealed in a shopping bag he was carrying.
• Bernie Kidd, 24, of the 800 block of Edgewood Avenue, Trenton, was arrested about 1:35 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, after he allegedly left the Sears department store with $140 worth of stolen clothing, including a pair of pants he was wearing. While inside a Sears fitting room, Kidd allegedly put the stolen pants on under the sweatpants he was wearing, and stuffed other stolen clothes into a bag he was carrying.
• A 15-year-old boy from Trenton was arrested shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 6, after he allegedly exited the Lord & Taylor department store with $125 worth of earrings hidden in the pocket of his sweatshirt.
• Two Trenton girls – one 15 years old, and the other 16 – were arrested about 3:20 p.m. on Sunday, March 6, for allegedly stealing clothing from Sears department store. The girls were stopped by Sears security guards after they passed by all sales registers and exited the store. The 15-year-old allegedly had a $10 shirt hidden in a bag she was carrying, while the 16-year-old allegedly had a $30 jacket stuffed in another bag.

Anyone with information about any of the above crimes is asked to call Lawrence Township police at (609) 896-1111.

A copy of Lawrence Township's police dispatch log for Wednesday, March 2, through Sunday, March 6, 2011, can be downloaded from the PDF box above. This log lists all significant calls for service and incidents for which officers filed a written report. Routine administrative assignments are omitted. Some data has been redacted to protect the identity of crime victims.